'Would Request People To...': Chunky Panday REACTS To Ananya Panday Being Trolled Over Bharatanatyam Fusion In Chand Mera Dil

Actor Chunky Panday has reacted to the online trolling faced by his daughter Ananya Panday, over the Bharatanatyam fusion sequence in her recently released film Chand Mera Dil, which was released in the theatres on May 22. The actress recently found herself at the centre of social media criticism after a dance clip from the film went viral, with several users questioning the fusion of classical Bharatanatyam with contemporary choreography and styling.

Chunky Panday Reacts To Trolling Over Ananya Panday's Dance Scene

Defending her daughter, Chunky told ETimes, "I think people completely misunderstood it. It was never meant to be pure Bharatanatyam. It was a fusion performance, the kind of experimental dance you often see college students perform at social or cultural events."

He added that people assumed the performance was traditional Bharatanatyam and began judging it from that perspective, whereas pure Bharatanatyam requires years of rigorous training, discipline and precision, making it an extremely technical and highly structured dance form.

'Would Request People To Watch The Film &...'

Furthermore, calling it a creative experiment, Chunky stated, "This is a fusion of futuristic, advanced dance forms with elements of traditional dance. It’s a creative blend, not a classical recital. I would request people to watch the film and understand the context before reacting."

Meanwhile, Ananya has not directly addressed the criticism yet.

Bharatanatyam Dancer Slams Ananya Panday's Bharatanatyam Fusion

Renowned Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance exponent Sonal Mansingh recently strongly criticised Ananya's Bharatanatyam fusion performance and called it "absolute trash" and "unacceptable".

Speaking to ANI, Mansingh said, "I won't even call it a performance. I'm sorry. If you can say that Sonal Mansingh performs and Ananya Panday also performs, we can't say that," she said. This is not Bharatanatyam, of course not, whatever so-called movement, swinging out and in and all that. I don't understand."

Backed by Dharma Productions, the film is directed by Vivek Soni.