Ananya Panday is currently enjoying the positive response that her recently released movie CTRL is receiving. Helmed by Vikramaditya Motwane, the screenlife thriller film showcases the life of a social media influencer who gets trapped by an application that tries to control her life. While talking about the film and her character, the young star admitted that she drew inspiration from her cousin Alanna Panday and her husband Ivor’s life for her character.

In a chat with Bollywood Hungama, Ananya Panday stated that her cousin Alanna Panday and her husband Ivor are influencers who vlog about everything that’s happening in their lives. Hence, she thought they were the perfect people to get her inspiration from to play her character, Nella Awasthi in CTRL. She told the publication that sees a lot of influencers, but her cousin Alanna and her husband are couple bloggers.

“They make vlogs about everything – from when they met, to their wedding, to her pregnancy, and even her journey with their baby,” the Gehraiyaan actress opined adding that they have covered it all on their YouTube channel. Hence, watching them was a close-to-home reference that helped her understand the sacrifices required to be a public figure “especially when your life is exposed even more than an actor’s.” Panday also stated that comedian Sumukhi Suresh was part of the writing team, and she knows a lot about influencers.

A day ago, Ananya dropped multiple unseen glimpses from the sets of her Netflix movie and expressed gratitude for the love and appreciation coming her way. She penned, “Grateful for all the love and appreciation Nella and CTRL are getting reading everything and smiling very wide. @motwayne you know exactly how I feel.. love you toooo much and I can never thank you enough – this is a core memory and one of my biggest learnings. And none of this would be possible without the most amazing cast and crew watch CTRL on @netflix_in if you haven’t already.”

Take a look:

Radhikka Madan has worked in enough movies in Bollywood to know that nepotism is prevalent in the industry. While sharing her two cents on the matter, she stated that aspiring actors with parents and acquaintances within the industry get multiple movies to perfect their craft. While outsiders like her are removed from films on their first mistake.

Known for being part of movies like Angrezi Medium, Sarfira, and others, Radhikka Madan started her acting career in 2018 with Pataakha. During her chat with Shubhankar Mishra, she spoke her mind about the existence of nepotism in the Hindi film industry. The actress admitted that it does exist, just like in every other industry. However, she expressed that a ‘star kid’ has the advantage of working in 2-3 movies even if they didn’t perform well in their first movie. She said in Hindi, “Unko seekhane k liye 2-3 filmein aur mil jaati hai ki ‘Abhi seekh jaega, arey dekho improvement hai’. (They get multiple films to learn with people patting their backs for improving with every movie.)”

But that’s not the case for someone like her who doesn’t have links or family in the industry. Madan expressed that when it comes to them, filmmakers are like ‘You can’t act, we gave you an opportunity, you’re out.’ This is when they think it’s a matter of life and death and hence, they develop survival instincts.

“Meri ek galati hogi toh meko toh nikaal denge, mereko nhi mauke milne wale 2-3 filmon ke, acting seekhane ke liye. (On my one mistake, they will remove me. I won’t get a chance to learn acting in multiple movies)” she stated adding that outsiders like her are expected to come on sets only after perfecting and polishing their craft. However, for the insiders, it’s said that they are hardworking and will get better in the next movie. This is the only thing she doesn’t feel fair. But since it exists in every field, she is okay with it but she can’t deny this truth about B-town.

For more such updates about showbiz, stay tuned to Pinkvilla!