Ananya Panday was uncomfortable to star in Vijay Deverakonda’s Liger and turned to her father Chunky Panday for advice. Chunky told her to do the film as he felt it has the potential to do well commercially. The film eventually turned out to be a box-office dud and received poor reviews from critics.

The film also starred Chunky in a supporting role and in a recent interview Chunky recalled discussing with Ananya who wasn’t sure if she should do the film. “When she asked me if she she should do this film… she was thinking that she was too young for it. She said ‘Papa, I am too young to do this.’ I said you do this; it’s a commercial, big film but maybe she was right. She was too young to do it,” Chunky said.

He added, “She was uncomfortable. She said maybe, I am too young for this. She was confused then,” he recalled and shared that since Liger, he has never influenced her decision making. He also added that if Ananya had asked his opinion about Call Me Bae, he would have said no. “From that day on, I never put any pressure on her. Maybe I was wrong. I am old school. I don’t know anything else. If she had asked me ‘Papa, should I do Bae?’ I would have said no.”

Liger is a sports-drama which was written and directed by Puri Jagannadh and was produced by Karan Johar. It released in theatres on August 25, 2022.