Ananya Panday trolled for 'butchering' Bharatanatyam in 'Chand Mera Dil'

Expressing their disappointment and anger, netizens have called out Ananya Panday for "butchering" the dance form and disrespecting the culture.

Ananya Panday has stirred up a social media storm after her clips of performing a fusion of Bharatanatyam in the recently released film Chand Mera Dil has gone viral.

In a clip which went viral on social media, Ananya is seen performing the classical dance form, sending the fans into a frenzy.

Expressing their disappointment and anger, netizens have called out the Student of the Year actor for "butchering" the dance form.

Several called her out for her stiff body while others believed her dance moves were robotic and that AI could have done a better job.

In a strong-worded post, a user wrote on X, "Bharatanatyam = cultural desecration in designer lehenga. Ananya, Bharatanatyam survived 2000 years of history. It didn’t survive for you to butcher it. Stick to ramps and leave sacred arts for those who actually train. Talentless nepo cosplay at it's worst."

Another wrote, "Someone needs to stop Ananya Pandey ji before she further destroys Bharatanatyam. That audacity to have Nataraja idol in the background and perform like this."

A third posted, "Somewhere a Bharatanatyam guru saw Ananya Panday dancing and quietly removed their ghungroo," while a fourth said, "I dont know what kind of nruthya this is but I can definitely say its not Bharatanatyam."

Even Congress spokesperson Dr Shama Mohamed expressed her disappointment over Ananya's portrayal of the dance form.

Taking to X, Shama wrote, "Ananya Pandey has killed my favorite dance form - Bharatnatyam! I have learnt it from the age of 7 to the age of 13 - did my arangetram too in kuwait & never looked back. Classical dance needs to be studied over a period of time & cant be manufactured for Ms Pandey! Please dont ever insult such beautiful art as bharatnatyam."

Take a look at other reactions:

The wave of intense social media scrutiny and harsh comments doesn't seem to stop anytime soon as netizens insist that Ananya has disrespected not just a dance form but a whole culture.

Meanwhile, Chand Mera Dil has received lukewarm reviews. After three days of its release, the film is now eyeing to cross Rs 15 crore worldwide.

Directed by Vivek Soni, the film also stars Ananya Panday as Chandni and Lakshya as Aarav.