Ananya Panday, in an exclusive conversation with Rohit Khilnani on Bollywood Hungama’s Hangout at IFP, opened up about her experience of working on Vikramaditya Motwane’s 2024 screen-life thriller CTRL. The actress shared that Motwane’s Udaan has long been her mother’s favourite film, and she grew up watching it. But when the filmmaker offered CTRL, she needed time to absorb the fact that she would actually be directed by him.
Recalling their first meeting, Ananya said she initially assumed Motwane was simply narrating the concept. “I was like, okay, so who’s directing it? I thought he’s just kind of like… he’s like, ‘I’m directing it.’ It took me 10 days to process the fact that I might actually be in a Vikramaditya Motwane film,” she said.
The shoot itself was unlike anything she had done before. The entire film, presented in a screen-life format, was captured in just 14 days—using a phone. Ananya held the device during takes, with another phone mounted onto it for camera settings. Because the story unfolds through CCTV visuals, laptop screens, and phone footage, the scenes played out in long, unbroken stretches.
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“The takes would go on for 15–20 minutes because you couldn’t cut,” she explained. “If I was talking to Vihaan, he would actually call me from another room and we’d run the dialogues. There’s no coverage—no close-up, no wide shot.”
When asked what Motwane is like as a director, Ananya described him as someone who balances structure with freedom. The team began with extensive workshops, but on set, he allowed her space to improvise. His quiet nature, however, often left her guessing.
“He’s awkward in the most wonderful way,” she said. “After a take, he just doesn’t say something sometimes. So I’m like, ‘Is that okay? Is that not?’ I’m a very validation-seeking person. I need to know—was it right, was it not? But he’s like, ‘Yeah, okay, done.’ It was a great experience.”
CTRL, starring Ananya Panday and Vihaan Samat, released on Netflix in October 2024. Directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and produced by Saffron Magicworks and Andolan Films, the screen-life thriller continues to receive attention for its experimental format and tight production timeline.
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