Early on in Kho Gaye Hum Kahaan, Ahana (Ananya Panday) steals glances at her phone, conspicuously placed away from her as she tries to get some work done. The music is ominous, and as it reaches a crescendo, Ahana gives in. She picks up her phone and scrolls through the profile of her ex-boyfriend’s probable new flame.
When I bring up this scene with Ananya, the actor is more than happy to delve into how these smaller moments in the script were the biggest draw for her. Kho Gaye… released late in December last year, and Ananya has been basking in all the praise she’s received for a performance that many have dubbed her best yet.
“The scene that you mentioned — every small detail was written down by Arjun (Varain Singh). When I prepped for this scene, I was sent some reference tracks that sounded almost hypnotic, one of which even plays in the background. I had people tell me this scene felt like a horror scene for my generation,” she says laughing, on a video call from Mumbai.
“You’re looking at your phone, and almost getting hypnotised by it. It is the sad reality we live in, and the script managed to include a lot of these nuances and smaller details that I felt represented my generation,” she adds.
Billed as the buddy movie for this generation, taking off from the makers’ past works like Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Kho Gaye… follows the lives of three 20-somethings in Mumbai as they navigate careers, ambition, friendships and relationships, all against the backdrop of social media and the clutch it has on the lives of the upper class urban Indian youth.
Ananya’s Ahana, for instance, has an MBA degree and is keen on quitting her dead-end job and pursuing the start-up dream, all while going through the post-break-up purge. The break-up has left her battling self-doubt and she proceeds to put herself through the wringer. There’s obsessive Instagram stalking, a newfound passion for fitness, dating apps, and even a revenge outfit (a bright red saree).
“Playing a character like Ahana might look simple and seem like playing a version of yourself, but a lot of preparation goes into this. I could say, in many ways, Ahana is similar to me, but she is as similar to me as she is to many other women in their 20s in this generation. I especially realised this a lot more after watching the film, and Ahana seems to have resonated with a lot of girls,” she says.
The 25-year-old actor is also quick to acknowledge how personally connected she felt to Ahana and the process it took to play this character on screen. There were lots of discussions, jamming, and workshops with ‘the boys’, she says, about prepping for the role with her co-stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav. This meant spending a lot of time together, and letting go of inhibitions.
“We had to bare our souls and talk about our vulnerabilities, and at the end of it all, I felt like I understood Adarsh, Sid, and Arjun a lot better. It let me be a lot more vulnerable on set, and I wasn’t scared of making mistakes,” Ananya explains. The extensive workshops and rehearsals enabled the actors to try out different variations of many scenes, and by the time they reached the sets, Ananya says, they were all in sync and ready to roll.
Friendship and more
As much as it is about all the drama that ensues as a result of sudden overnight social media fame, dating apps, and more, Kho Gaye…at its core has the trio of friends — Ahana, Imaad, and Neil. Their relationship onscreen is often summed up through beautifully shot montages set to OAFF and Savera’s languorous music.
One of cinematographer Tanay Satam’s best shots in the film is of the trio sitting in Ahana and Imaad’s living room. The room is bathed in gold with sunlight pouring in through the windows. There’s a shared comfortable silence as they all remain engrossed in their own devices, watching a video or swiping through photos.
Ananya brings this up as well when asked about a favourite scene or moment from the film. “I really loved the silence. Hanging out as a trio in silence, or when we burst out laughing. These were the most unrehearsed, joyful moments for me and I’ve had people come up to me and say they missed their friends when they saw this. We wanted the audience to be left with these moments,” she says.
The actor isn’t straying too far away from technology, devices or screens anytime soon, given that she’s also starring in Vikramaditya Motwane’s cyber-thriller film, which will be completely told via screens — a screenlifer.
Given how Kho Gaye… is almost a commentary on communication and technology, and how a generation navigates all that it has to offer on a day-to-day basis, it would be remiss if we don’t discuss how Ananya personally trudges through this as someone who has seen her fair share of trolling.
“I had kept a distance from social media for a while before the film was released but went on it a lot more to listen to the audience feedback. I find my social media usage completely dependent on my frame of mind at any given point in time — if I am mentally up for it, I use it a lot more, or I keep away. I’ve learnt to mute and restrict pages that make me anxious,” she says.
