'Saiyaara' actor Ahaan Panday was the least pampered, would sleep in corridor: 'Everyone would see me in a towel'
and
Aneet Padda
's film 'Saiyaara' has made history with its box office numbers. The film has minted highest opening weekend number for a love story in Hindi cinema. The
Mohit Suri
directorial has turned Ahaan and Aneet into stars overnight. But do you know that during his growing up years, Ahaan had a humble beginning. He is
Ananya Panday
's cousin and
Chunky Pandey
's brother Chikki Pandey's son.
In a video shared on Ahaan's sister Alanna Panday's Youtube channel, the family spoke about their early years when they all lived together.
In the clip, Ahaan shared a rarely seen glimpse into his upbringing, recalling what it was like growing up in a packed joint household despite his family's film connections. He revealed that he didn't enjoy the luxuries one might assume. 'I can't give you a specific one but I do know that I was the least pampered.
I know that because I lived in a corridor for 7 years of my life,' he said, to the surprise of many viewers.
Alanna quickly interjected to clarify the situation: 'It was not a corridor. It was a room built.' But Ahaan doubled down with a smile, offering more detail: 'It was a room built in a corridor. It was a corridor first. One side was the exit, and the other side were my dad and Dadi's bedrooms. I was in the passageway. Everyone would see me in my towel every day.'
Today, the contrast couldn't be starker. Ahaan now resides in a sprawling four storey home in Mumbai, complete with a game room and separate staff quarters—built by his father, businessman Chikki Panday. But those early years, he says, are part of what made him who he is.
The video also saw the siblings reminisce about their extended family life, which included not only their immediate relatives but also Chunky Panday, Bhavana Panday (familiar to many from Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives), and cousins Ananya and Rysa Panday. 'We lived in a joint family. There's limited space. Would you rather live in a joint family full of love than have your own space and live separately?' Alanna asked.
Ahaan nodded, adding warmly, 'It was great. I won't have it any other way.'
See more:
'Saiyaara' box office collection day 5 (LIVE): The Mohit Suri film may see a slight drop on Tuesday, after crossing Rs 110 crore
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(NOTE: This article was originally published in the India Today issue dated July 31, 1988)He is not handsome by conventional standards. He is short, dark and can easily be ignored in a crowd. But for all that, he is the undisputed superstar of the South, a man whose name spells box-office magic, the Midas of the eight long years, Rajinikanth has occupied the number one slot in south Indian films. Now, 115 films and almost as many hits later, he has reached a stage where he can choose his roles and, more significantly, restrict himself to four Tamil films a year. The remaining time is spent in Bombay acting in Hindi the late M.G. Ramachandran could compete with that phenomenal box-office record. But Rajinikanth is also the hero from the South—which has traditionally produced leading ladies for the Hindi screen—who has survived in the competitive world of Bombay films. Next month, Rajinikanth's first English movie, Bloodstone, in which he plays a taxi-driver, will hit the screen in 1,500 theatres all over the US. Shot mainly in Bangalore, the action packed entertainer has been co-produced by Amritraj Productions and the NRI Metro Film Corporation, owned by Dr Murali Manohar, a film film is about an American couple on a visit to India who get involved with a gang of smugglers. Rajinikanth, a local taxi-driver, comes to their aid. Made at a cost of one million dollars (Rs 1.30 crore) the film will be distributed worldwide by Columbia film fits in perfectly with the superstar's designs for the future. "I have reached a dead-end as far as Tamil films are concerned. Through Hindi movies, I have got a national image. What I want today is worldwide recognition," says Rajinikanth. In any event, by 1990, he plans to take a break from Tamil films and start directing his own even his most ardent fans believe that Rajinikanth's real talent lies in Tamil films which have made him what he is today. He is the only Tamil hero whose films are sold even before shooting starts. He is reported to get Rs 25 lakh per film, the highest paid to any hero in the Manithan (human being) released last Diwali is a box-office success, while his latest Guru Shishiya (master-pupil) is drawing packed houses. Says G. Venkateswarao, producer, distributor and president of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce: "He is a goldmine for producers and distributors."No wonder producers form an endless queue outside his door. The average cost of making a Rajinikanth film in Tamil is around Rs 70 lakh. But the film is sold by the producer to the distributor for over Rs 1 crore. A super-successful Rajinikanth film can do business for over Rs 2 crore. 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