ananya-panday-call-me-bae-inspired-by-chick-flicks

Ananya Panday said on Tuesday that her first OTT series "Call Me Bae" drew inspiration from the numerous women-led comedy films she watched while growing up, such as "Clueless" starring Alicia Silverstone and "Aisha" starring Sonam Kapoor.

 

In the new series on Prime Video, the actor from "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan" portrays the character Bae, also known as Bella Chowdhary, as she embarks on a journey from riches to rags.

 

During the trailer launch event for the show, Panday highlighted that the character Pooja Sharma, known as Poo and portrayed by Kareena Kapoor Khan in 2001's "Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..." by Karan Johar, served as an inspiration for "Call Me Bae," which is also produced by Karan Johar's Dharmatic Entertainment.

 

"It's an amalgamation of all these chick-flick kind of movies that I loved growing up. And then there was obviously Poo, who was iconic. I literally dressed up as Poo two years ago... I have all her quotes on my mirror and everything, so she's really left an imprint on me.

 

"It's like a mix of 'Schitt's Creek', 'Clueless', 'Aisha', 'Nancy Drew'... I don't think we're really getting to watch (such films and series) right now. It's the kind of show that I love to watch. It's very light, young adult, happy and fun. Even though Bae has a bit of all these characters (in her), she is fully her own person," the actor told reporters.

 

"Call Me Bae" was directed by Collin D'Cunha and written by Ishita Moitra. It tells the story of Bae, who lives a privileged life in New Delhi before being disowned by her family. 

 

After relocating to Mumbai, she transitions into journalism to support herself, forming unexpected connections and facing numerous obstacles along the way. 

 

Panday, known for her roles in "Student of the Year 2," "Gehraiyaan," and "Dream Girl 2," described her portrayal of Bae as her most enjoyable yet demanding role to date.

 

"It's the first time that I'm doing a long-format series, and the advantage of that is that you get to go into every character. With films, you only have a couple of scenes. You can't really build up a backstory that much. But with a long format, you get to do that," she said, praising Johar and D'Cunha, as well as the show's team, for helping her out during the shooting.

 

"Everything that I've done in the show is thanks to them. The crew, the dialogues, the way it (show) is written. It was just so much fun," she added.

 

The show's trailer, which was launched today, closes with a conversation between Bae and a security guard which is a hat-tip to Panday's viral interview moment with her "Gehraiyaan" co-star Siddhant Chaturvedi during a roundtable interview a few years ago where he talked about the struggles of an outsider.

 

During that interview, Panday—daughter of actor Chunky Pandey—equated success in the industry to "Koffee with Karan" appearances, and Chaturvedi responded with a comment that instantly went viral.

 

“The difference is jahaan humare sapne poore hote hain, wahi inka struggle shuru hota hai (their struggle begins where our dreams are fulfilled)." Asked about referencing the moment in "Call Me Bae", Panday said they have "kind of owned up to it".

 

"I said it like five years ago. I really struggled answering this question and honestly, I am done with that. I'm just trying to keep my head down and hope people like my work. And there is no struggle, I'm doing fine," she said.

 

"Call Me Bae" also features Vir Das, Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vihaan Samat, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Lisa Mishra, and Mini Mathur in pivotal roles.

 

The show, executive produced by Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra, will debut on Prime Video on September 6 in Hindi with dubs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.