Netizens blast Ananya Panday for insulting Lord Nataraja

Ananya Panday's Chand Mera Dil directed by Vivek Singh and produced by Dharma Productions hit the screens recently.

Ananya Panday played the role of the daughter of a Bharat Natyam dancer and she was seen performing on the stage. The video of her stage performance is now getting trolled by the netizens.

An X user, who shared the clip online, commented, "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...(sic)."

A second user said, "#AnanyaPandey literally turned a 2000-year-old glorious legacy of Classical Bharatanatyam into a complete joke on screen. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone files a case against Ananya in the future over this Cringe."

A third user said, "Bharatanatyam survived empires, invasions, and centuries but then Ananya Panday arrived in 2026 and said, “my turn".

Another user commented, "Bharatnatyam evolved in 200 BCE and ended with Ananya Pandey in 2026. @ananyapandayy Why did you do this? What enmity do you have with Indian culture and the people who watch films? Please stop acting and have mercy on US."

Well known Bharat Natyam dancer Anita Ratnam came down heavily in the following post.

Watching this clip felt like Bharatanatyam being held hostage by a catastrophic misunderstanding of the form.

Somewhere between the flailing arms and random camera moves, the dance quietly packed its bags and exited the building.

Bharatanatyam is built on technique, control, tradition, geometry, musicality and emotional depth. This clip treats it like a wedding sangeet filmed during a mild earthquake.

The tragedy is not that it is BAD. Bad can sometimes be charming. The tragedy is the complete confidence with which it bulldozes through centuries of sophistication, training, dedication and devotion while appearing utterly unaware that ADAVUS are not optional suggestions.

This is choreography by algorithmic panic - and Lord Nataraja is suffering this abomination.