Mumbai: Actor Ananya Panday came out in defence of Gen Z at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2026, saying the generation is often judged unfairly.
Calling them “badnaam for no reason”, the actor spoke about the stereotypes surrounding Gen Z and why she believes the younger generation is frequently misunderstood.
At the summit on Saturday, Ananya also opened up about nepotism, workplace safety in the film industry, her acting aspirations and her belief that love is everything.
Speaking at a session featuring filmmaker Imtiaz Ali and moderated by Sonal Kalra, Ananya began with a light-hearted remark about the stereotypes surrounding Gen Z, particularly those concerning hard work and effort.
“I think Gen-Z is badnaam (infamous) for no reason,” she said.
Ananya acknowledged that younger people are often perceived as unwilling to work hard for success. However, she argued that the difference lies in how Gen Z defines success.
She explained that earlier generations believed success required immense mental and physical effort, but the approach has evolved over time.
According to her, there are now several ways to achieve success, and Gen Z simply has a different way of approaching it.
The actor also addressed the debate around nepotism, drawing from her own experiences in the industry.
“I am very proud to be my father’s daughter,” she said, expressing her desire to contribute towards making film sets safer and creating better opportunities for the next generation of actors.
Speaking about her dream roles, Ananya described herself as a “greedy actor” who wants to explore every kind of character.
“I love crying onscreen, maybe because I am not an emotional person in life. I do enjoy comedy a lot too,” she said.
Reflecting on the summit’s theme, New Rules, New Realities, Panday highlighted how encouraging it was to see films across genres and formats finding success at the box office.
“As an industry, we are not following a recipe or relying on old tricks. Something like [the 2025 Malayalam film] Lokah, the story of a female superhero, is working alongside a film like [Ali’s recent release] Main Vaapas Aaunga, which is such a beautiful unhurried film that made its way into the hearts of the audience,” she said.
During the concluding quick-fire round, Ananya identified “cancel culture” as one modern-day obsession the world could do without, pointing out how even minor mistakes can lead to people being shunned.
Sharing her biggest takeaway from life, she added, “At the risk of sounding Gen Z, my motto would be YOLO. We struggle with the present, and overthink every interaction. I think we should stop doing that.”
