The web series Call Me Bae, directed by Collin D’Cunha and produced by Karan Johar, marks Ananya Panday’s digital debut and premiered on Prime Video last Friday. In the show, Panday plays the lead character, Bae, also known as Bella Chowdhary.
Many viewers who quickly binge-watched the series are calling it ‘India’s Emily in Paris’ on X (formerly Twitter). Some reactions include, “Call Me Bae is so unserious I love it,” and praise for Vir Das, with one user writing, “Whoever thought of casting Vir Das as an unhinged sellout nut job cartoon of a TV news anchor in Call Me Bae will forever have my respect.”
Another user shared, “Call Me Bae was such a fun watch!! Behen code ftw [sister code for the win],” while someone else added, “OMG Call Me Bae is so much fun!!! Ananya was born to play these kinds of roles.”
One viewer humorously tweeted, “I had binged too many ghost stories recently and couldn’t sleep the whole night so I started watching Call Me Bae and I loved it???? Now it’s 7am and I have to login at work at 11am… on basically 0 sleep.”
Not all feedback was positive, as one person joked, “I have just finished Ananya Panday’s web series Call Me Bae. And after that, I have decided to make a new web series Call Me C****** that I have watched that shit.” Another commented, “Call Me Bae is basically Ananya Panday’s ‘struggle’ journey from South Delhi to South Mumbai lol.”
According to Hindustan Times, “Ananya just gets Bae. Whether it’s due to her ability to distance herself from her privilege or the strength of solid writing, Ananya ensures Bae is consistently fun, self-deprecating, and surprisingly layered.” While her past roles in Gehraiyaan and Liger highlighted her charm in different ways, Ananya has shown she can push beyond her perceived persona, as seen in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan.
The series, which explores themes like privilege, empowerment, and the influence of social media, also stars Gurfateh Pirzada, Varun Sood, Vihaan Samat, Muskkaan Jaferi, Niharika Lyra Dutt, Lisa Mishra, and Mini Mathur. Call Me Bae is produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra.