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Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ananya Panday and Kalyani Priyadarshan Channel Their Main Character Energy
The three women trailblazers talk about scripts and stage fright, about ageing and autonomy, about the films that broke their hearts and the ones that made them whole
There is a particular kind of power that doesn't announce itself. It simply walks into a room and rearranges the air. That is the kind of power that Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Ananya Panday are interested in talking about — the kind they have spent their careers quietly, and sometimes not so quietly, building.
Between them, they span nearly three decades of Indian cinema. Kapoor Khan, who turned risk into a career philosophy before most of her contemporaries knew what that meant, has never looked more assured. Priyadarshan, the breakout star of Lokah, brings the considered perspective of someone who came to fame on her own terms and intends to keep it that way. And Panday, who has grown visibly and vocally into her craft, arrives with the hard-won confidence of someone who has learned — slowly, then all at once — that she is allowed to say no.
In a conversation — in partnership with De Beers — the three are funny, frank, and occasionally philosophical. They talk about scripts and stage fright, about ageing and autonomy, about the films that broke their hearts and the ones that made them whole. What emerges is less an interview than a masterclass — in survival, in self-possession, and in the radical act of showing up as yourself.
Edited excerpt from the conversation.
THR India: How do you personally define power?
KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN: For me, it’s always been about the presence on screen. If you can command that attention, whether the role is big or small, that’s the power of an actor. If I can grab the attention of the audience with that, I think that is powerful.
KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN: I’m a very private person and I have massive stage fright. So, it’s not the popularity that excites me, but the freedom. Right now, producers are willing to back stars more than they are willing to back stories. That’s why I get the freedom to choose the stories. I want to give them the kind of backing that I’d be able to give them if I were a star. So, for me, I think power is the ability to actually do that.
ANANYA PANDAY: Power is about making a difference because as actors, we’re able to do that on screen and off screen. I felt that when I did Kho Gaye Hum Kahan because so many people came to me and said, ‘We felt seen, we felt represented.’ I’ve grown up with some of the characters she [Kareena Kapoor Khan] did on screen. I felt like I was understood finally, the way Geet [Kapoor Khan’s character from the film Jab We Met] would just talk non-stop. I was like, ‘Oh, there’s someone like us on screen.’ Off screen also, as actors when we get the power to say no, especially as women, we’re setting a precedent for so many girls coming after us.
KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN
THR INDIA: You have studied architectural design and worked as an assistant to a production designer. Does that come into the acting at all?
I think what that gives me is a different kind of empathy on set. I’m very aware that when delays happen, no one has planned for this. I’m more than happy to wait in my caravan for hours because something went wrong. Even while I’m on set, I think I’ve understood that nobody is looking at you. The lighting department guys are not looking at us at all. They’re looking at their work. Everybody is focused on their work. And that made me loosen up a little in front of the camera. But otherwise, they’re two completely different jobs. One is very technical and the other is a lot more creative.
THR India: Tell us about a moment in your careers when you felt that you had the power to give feedback, ask for something or say no.
AP: It takes a while. I feel like in my first few films I didn’t know that I could say no. I didn’t know that I could say that I’m not comfortable doing something or wearing something, or that ‘I’m not okay saying this dialogue’. I actually learned from Deepika [Padukone] on Gehraiyaan because I saw how much strength she had and how she conducted herself. If she wanted something, she would ask for it. It was never like, ‘She’s asking for too much,’ because she did it in such a graceful way. Now I’m asking questions and really rechecking everything.
KKK: We just did what we were told. We wore what we wanted to. I’ve seen a transition from that. Even though I’ve always been very vociferous about the way I felt about things — I mean I did tell Farah [Khan, choreographer] that, ‘I can’t dance like Hrithik Roshan, so please just take my close-up.’ I think you should always put yourself first and forward in the film because it is, of course, an entire team effort, but you have to look a little bit inwards for yourself.
KP: I think I’ve been lucky to work with directors whose first question is, ‘Are you okay with this?’ But if I were in any other position, I don’t think I would have spoken up as much.
THR INDIA: What’s the one thing you don’t want to hear on a stage set?
ANANYA PANDAY: The shouting. [I need] silence, right before the take.
KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN: The shouting. You have to respect what’s happening at that moment, even if it’s for a dance shot. Nobody can be yapping on the side. I think it’s quite disrespectful to the actor or to any artiste.
KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN: I think, for almost every actor, that might be the universal answer.
THR INDIA: Do you think there are now changed notions of ageing and desirability and the idea of when a woman is sexy?
KKK: I think so. I mean, I would like to believe that. Because I think that I’ve been there, done it, and seen it all. What excites me more is going barefaced in Buckingham Murders (2023). I don’t care what people feel, what they say. I mean, this is it. In 2026, I’m going to be 46. I’m a mother of two. I believe I look amazing. I’m having a blast in my 40s; I’m loving it. I’m sitting with Ananya and Kalyani and we’ve all done some amazing work. I mean, who would have thought?
KP: I think neither of us slept because we were so excited.
AP: Unhealthy obsession. In my vanity van, on the mirror, I have a picture of Lolo [Karisma Kapoor] and it says, ‘Main apni favourite hoon.’ And there’s a picture of me — which I put up on my birthday every year — at nine years old, holding a picture of Kareena and smiling because she loves herself so much. That makes us love ourselves. You know, it gives us the confidence of being like, ‘Oh, my God, who cares? I love myself.’ That’s so amazing.
THR INDIA: When you’re looking at scripts and choosing projects, are you seeing enough material that’s giving you meat?
KP: I’ve been thinking about this for a while now, so I believe the audience dictates where cinema is going. Right now, the trend is about spectacle. Every scene has to be sensational or shocking. You can show spectacle with violence, with crazy, shocking things. People think that’s what’s selling cinema. I don’t agree, but I think that’s where it’s heading right now. And we’re losing the small films. We’re losing the small moments. We’re losing a lot of the emotional moments, intimate moments. And it scares me a little.
AP: As Kalyani said, everything is very small. When Saiyaara (2025) came out, suddenly everyone’s like, ‘Let’s make Saiyaara.’ When I did CTRL (2024), suddenly I was only getting films about Gen-Z and social media. So, you need someone like Kalyani in Lokah (2025). You need someone to come and break the clutter.
KKK: Now I think it’s all thriller and crime and gore and blood and stuff and no fun, energy, colour, song, love, romance.
KP: What worked for Lokah is we had an amazing woman writer on our team. I wish that movies would have more women writers in them. There’s a different perspective that way. Men write what they know, so you can’t blame them. If they try to write for a woman, it will go a little off, in my opinion. Maybe it’s an assumption, but maybe seeing a few more women writers might change that.
AP: Yeah, I think it’s a systemic thing that needs to happen, because it’s not just actors choosing, but it has to come from producers and directors.
ANANYA PANDAY
THR INDIA: The failure that broke your heart?
Every failure affects you in some way or the other. But I think I’ve gotten better with dealing with failure after Liger (2022). When the film doesn’t do well, it’s such a juxtaposition in your feelings — to come down from such a high; you don’t understand what’s hit you. With Liger, there was just too much social media trolling. It confused me. There were reactions from all over the country. I was overwhelmed with how drastically something can fall and how to manage. I’ve been a bit more realistic after that.
THR INDIA: All of you are very successful. How are you ensuring that you’re also independent?
KP: You can’t predict what the audience will say about you. They might like my performance or not like my performance, but I won’t let them say I’m safe and doing the same thing again and again. That’s the only thing that I do to be independent.
AP: I think, just being patient. It’s okay to say no to something and wait it out rather than catching onto some wave or trying to just do everything or be a part of everything. So, just waiting and taking a risk gives me independence.
THR INDIA: Last year, there was this meltdown about normalising eight-hour workdays. How do you deal with this?
KKK: Everything needs to be really well-planned and you have to be very clear right from the beginning. I will say, ‘This is what I can do,’ because I have two children. I need to come back. Obviously, even if you’re married, have children and as a woman, if you do not want to give that time, you should be able to have that freedom to say, ‘This is what I want. I can only work this number of hours.’ It’s fine to say that way before a film starts.
KP: The Malayalam industry is 16-hour shifts. We just brought it down to 12 hours and I think it’s a huge win for our industry. Cinema can’t be boxed into fixed hours, but I think we all deserve respect and rest and support.
AP: It’s a discussion, and I think the film should be the priority. It’s okay to have a conversation with your producer, to find a balance. It’s a private conversation to have, and it’s something that can be worked around. There’s no hard and fast rule. Everyone is allowed to have that conversation.
THR INDIA: Kareena, you’ve always taken risks. Year two or three, you were doing Chameli. What enabled you to take risks?
KKK: I’ve never thought about it. But it just so happened that taking risks early on has helped in longevity of my career. People would say, ‘She can’t play this at 22,’ this character in Chameli (2003). At that time, they were making those commercial song-and-dance movies, and I was also doing K3G [Kabhi Khush Kabhie Gham...] and Mujhe Kucch Kehna Hai (2001). But I was hell bent on doing something like this. It allows me to show the world that I want to actually be an actor.
KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN
THR INDIA: The failure that broke your heart?
Odum Kuthira Chaadum Kuthira (2025) with Fahadh Faasil. As a story, it was a beautiful script. It dealt with depression in a sort of humorous way. It didn’t translate as well, perhaps, to audiences. I was confident about the film and sometimes when you’re confident and it doesn’t do well, it breaks you. Then you start questioning everything.
THR INDIA: Talk to us about the acting process.
AP: I’ve always wanted to ask [Kareena] this question because I’ve seen all these videos of her during Jab We Met (2007). She’s on her phone, and then suddenly they’ll call ‘Action,’ and she’ll just kill it.
KKK: Yeah, there’s no prep. I mean, I’ll read the script. I don’t create my own thing because I feel it’ll clash with my approach to things; I think I’m very instinctive. Like, on the first day of a shoot, I can feel if the movie is not going to do well. That's so scary and it stresses me out sometimes.
KP: How do you find inspiration to go for it?
KKK: That’s the struggle. But then I’m like, ‘I have to be amazing.’ And then I’m just focused on the way I am doing and what it is. So, it’s just instinct and experience.
THR INDIA: Phones or no phones through a shoot?
ANANYA PANDAY: Scene to scene, because there’s a lot of waiting on sets. You just have to check.
KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN: It depends on the scene. If it’s an intense scene, then I’m not into it.
KALYANI PRIYADARSHAN: In fact, intense scenes, I tell my team, ‘Please don’t come anywhere near me. It’s okay if I look ugly. It’s fine.’
THR INDIA: What’s your favourite power flex, a way to exert a little bit of power?
AP: You know, that day I called a restaurant and said, ‘It’s Ananya Panday. I need a table.’ And they were like, ‘Sorry, we don’t have space.’ It did not work out well for me at all.
KP: So, I don’t know if it’s because my dentist likes me, but when I go there, I don’t have to wait. It’s nice. It could also just be my personality and not the actor bit. But, yeah, he doesn’t make me wait, which is nice because I dread the dentist in general.
KKK: Not waiting. All for that. I’m always like, ‘Please. Please.’ It’s not a power flex.
AP: And you get such dirty looks. I get scared to cut the line sometimes.
KAREENA KAPOOR KHAN
THR INDIA: The failure that broke your heart?
Tashan (2008). I love Tashan. What a movie. Everyone was giving their best; everybody’s energy was on another level. Everyone wanted to look their best and thought their part was the best. It just broke my heart because I thought it would be amazing. But it still is one of my most favourite films.
THR INDIA: But you never drop: “I’m Kareena Kapoor Khan?”
KP: She doesn’t need to.
AP: She doesn’t need to. It’s in the room. It’s really not worked out for me. I’ve tried these power flexes, but it’s not happening. I think I just try to seem cool to my sister, who doesn’t think I’m cool at all. It’s really tough being an older sister. [To Kapoor Khan] Did Lolo ever feel like that? But you are obsessed, too. You are all obsessed with each other.
KKK: Yeah, we’re obsessed with each other. My husband feels he has competition. He’s like, ‘You’re always on the phone with your sister. What’s happening?’
KP: I have a brother, and he is not impressed. The day I know I look nice is if my brother says, ‘Hey, you look nice.’ But that happens once every five years.
Introductory text by Urvee Modwel and transcription by Asrath Upreti.