Actress Ananya Panday has drawn criticism online for her Bharatanatyam fusion dance sequence in the romantic drama Chand Mera Dil. A clip of her performance from the film went viral on social media following the film’s release on May 22.
Several viewers trolled Panday for allegedly turning “Bharatanatyam into ‘Bharta’.”
Reacting to Ananya’s Bharatanatyam sequence, an X user claimed the performance felt stiff and devoid of expressive abhinaya.
“#AnanyaPandey’s Bharatanatyam = cultural desecration in designer lehenga. Ananya, Bharatanatyam survived 2000 years of history. It didn’t survive for you to butcher it. Stick to ramps and leave sacred arts for those who actually train. Talentless nepo cosplay at it’s worst,” tweeted another user.
An X user compared Ananya’s Bharatanatyam sequence in Chand Mera Dil with Sai Pallavi’s performance in Shyam Singha Roy (2021), highlighting the latter’s grace and technique.
“Ananya pandey’s “Bharatnatyam” shows how the industry is insensitive to classical arts, how they mock it and the audacity to put it up publicly on a screen. Unfortunately in India there is no mechanism to sue those who mock classical arts. Its very fluid which makes anyone do any crap with it,” said another X user.
Sharing a clip of Ananya from the Bharatanatyam sequence in the film, another X user wrote, “Bharatnatyam was founded in 200 BCE and ended with Ananya Pandey in 2026.”
Expressing disappointment, a classical dance practitioner on X alleged that Ananya Panday’s portrayal of Bharatanatyam was disrespectful to the tradition and ignored the discipline required to master the form.
Also starring Laksya, Chand Mera Dil is directed by Vivek Soni and penned by Akshat Ghildial, Rahul Nanda, Tushar Paranjape. Backed by Dharma Productions, the film also stars Resad Ajim, Aastha Singh, Pratham Rathod, Ankur Poddar and Elvis Jose.
The story follows Ananya’s Chandni and Lakshya’s Aarav, and their love story, tracing their journey from the innocence of first love to the realities that test it.
On the work front, Ananya is currently shooting for the second season of Prime Video series Call Me Bae.
