Ananya Panday: ‘I Remove My Nazar Weekly, But Can’t Explain the Science!’

Actor Ananya Panday recently opened up about her superstitions, revealing that she has her ‘nazar’ (evil eye) removed weekly. She mentioned that this ritual is performed at her mother’s urging, and she personally believes in such practices. The Panday family’s quirks have been showcased in the Netflix reality series The Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives and in vlogs by Ananya’s cousin, influencer Alanna Panday. They also appeared on Farah Khan’s YouTube channel, where the topic of superstitions was discussed again.

In a video shared on Netflix India’s YouTube channel, Ananya explained her routine to comedian Raunaq Rajani: “I take out my nazar every week. The help at my house does the mirchi thing. You know the mirchi thing? So, if it smells a lot, it means you have nazar. If the mirchi burns a lot, you have nazar. I don’t know the science behind it… My mom put two black dots behind my ear before I came here. Everyone thinks I don’t shower or have something dirty behind my ear, but my mom keeps putting it again and again.”

While Ananya expressed her belief in these superstitions, other panelists seemed skeptical. In a recent video on Farah Khan’s channel, the filmmaker visited the Panday household and inquired about Ananya’s father, Chunky Panday. Ananya’s mother replied, “He’s getting his nazar removed.”

Ananya’s upcoming film, CTRL, directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, is set to be released on Netflix this Friday. In the film, she portrays a social media influencer entangled in a conspiracy after her boyfriend goes missing. Recently, she was featured in the Prime Video series Call Me Bae, co-produced by Karan Johar, and previously appeared in the Netflix drama Kho Gaye Hum Kahan, co-produced by Zoya Akhtar and Farhan Akhtar.