Anjali Anand : It is a privilege to work with people whom my parents have already worked with

Anjali Anand : Actress Anjali Anand, who made her big screen debut last year with Rocky and Rani's love story, has 3 projects this year. “I just completed two projects, one I can talk about and one I can’t. One is Bun Tikki, in which I am playing a small character. It's a beautiful film and I'm glad to be a part of it.

I am getting to work with Shabana Azmi, Abhay Deol and Zeenat Aman. I can't wait for the world to see it. It's incredible that I'm getting a chance to work with all these people so soon,'' says the actor, who will also appear in Dabba Kartel and another web show.

Anjali Anand
Anand also tells us that his mother Purnima Anand, who was an actress of the 70s-80s, has in the past worked with veteran actor Jeet Aman as his body double, which is designer Manish Malhotra's first feature The film is. “When they told me I was getting a chance to work with Zeenat, I was on seventh heaven. My mother was his body double many years ago. Working on the same project with them was wonderful. We talked a lot and she knew my parents. She couldn't believe the little girl was so big now. She was very admiring of Mom and Dad. I have no memory of meeting them as a child. But, I knew she was part of our lives and mum and dad knew her,” the 31-year-old explained.

“I didn’t have to tell him, I just said his name and he remembered everything. She remembered every single thing and she knew so much about my family, I had no idea. She knew where I was staying because she had been home for a long time. I didn't really ask my mother too many questions because I wanted to have new experiences of my own,” she continues.

Anand's father Dinesh Anand was also part of the industry, but unfortunately passed away in 2001. “My mother couldn’t believe I would work with all these people because she thought after my father, this time would never come back again. I'm glad I'm able to give her that life again. My father was an actor and my mother was a dancer, choreographer and body double. I feel very lucky that I get to work with the people my parents have worked with. Recently, I shot for a web show with Raj Babbar and he was a close friend of my father,” she expresses.

Talking about his hat-trick collaboration with veteran actress Shabana Azmi, he said, “This is my third film with Shabana. I put a post on social media with her because one day I just woke up and started missing her a lot because I had started another project and she was not part of it. I've been working with her constantly since 2021. She's on every set and in every meeting.' Suddenly he's not there, it makes me feel very strange. She's a good friend of mine now, someone to talk to, someone to take advice from."

Anand made his debut with Karan Johar’s commercial romantic film and he already has many opportunities coming his way. Would it be different if it was a shorter film? “No one in the film industry knew me, but now, I don’t need to introduce myself to anyone because the success of that film went everywhere. It's just about people seeing the talent in me and giving me opportunities now,” she replies, adding, “Even if it was nothing professionally, I don't think this case would be any different. A non-commercial thing like 12th failed did so well and Medha, who is my friend, got a lot of fame and work after that. So, it's not about small or big movies, you just have to be good at what you do. You get lucky and a lot of different things depending on whether the film works or not.”