‘Catastrophic Misunderstanding’: Bharatanatyam Artists Slam Ananya Panday’s Chand Mera Dil Dance Scene

Ananya Panday’s Bharatanatyam fusion performance in Chand Mera Dil has triggered strong reactions online, with classical dancers and social media users criticising the choreography.

Ananya Panday’s Bharatanatyam fusion sequence from Chand Mera Dil has gone viral, drawing both criticism and support online.

Source : Instagram/@ananyaakurup

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Ananya Panday's dance in 'Chand Mera Dil' sparks online Bharatanatyam debate.
• Dancers criticize fusion performance, calling it insensitive to tradition.
• Assistant choreographer praises Ananya's efforts, defending her performance.
• Online users also mock the execution of classical dance.

A dance sequence featuring Ananya Panday from the film Chand Mera Dil has ignited fierce debate online, with several Bharatanatyam dancers and social media users criticising the actor’s fusion performance. The clip, which has been circulating widely across social platforms over the past day, shows Ananya performing a stage act blending Bharatanatyam with hip-hop-inspired movements while her co-star Lakshya watches from the audience.

What Happens In The Viral Chand Mera Dil Scene?

In the film, Ananya plays Chandni, the daughter of a Bharatanatyam dancer portrayed by Charu Shankar. The now-viral scene centres around Chandni choosing a contemporary fusion performance over a traditional Bharatanatyam recital.

The sequence combines classical dance elements with hip-hop and locking techniques. However, the choreography quickly became a talking point online, with many users on X, formerly Twitter, questioning both the execution and the representation of the classical art form.

Bharatanatyam Dancers Criticise The Performance

Acclaimed dancer and Sangeet Natak Akademi Award recipient Anita R Ratnam was among those who reacted strongly to the clip. Known for developing the Neo Bharatam dance style, she shared a sharply worded review on X.

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,… https://t.co/Q8CUIdbdA9

— Anita R Ratnam (@aratnam) May 25, 2026

“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.”

She further wrote, “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.”

Ananya pandey's "Bharatnatyam " shows how the industry is insensitive to classical arts, how they mock it and the audacity to put it up publicly on a screen. Unfortunately in India there is no mechanism to sue those who mock classical arts. Its very fluid which makes anyone do…

— krithika sivaswamy (@krithikasivasw) May 24, 2026

Anita also tagged dancer Krithika Sivaswamy, who echoed similar sentiments. Krithika wrote, “Ananya pandey's "Bharatnatyam " shows how the industry is insensitive to classical arts, how they mock it and the audacity to put it up publicly on a screen. Unfortunately in India there is no mechanism to sue those who mock classical arts. Its very fluid which makes anyone do any crap with it.”

Ananya panday has literally turned Bharatanatyam into Bharta.

Instead of proper mudras , we got robot arms , Instead of abhinav expression we got surprise emoji face and..

Instead of footwork it look like a vibrating washing machine it feel like a some Ai took 2 hours of… pic.twitter.com/Org4HNJRsR

— Krisha 🌸 (@KrishaAsiagh) May 24, 2026

The criticism did not stop there. One user posted, "Instead of proper mudras , we got robot arms , Instead of abhinav expression we got surprise emoji face and.. Instead of footwork it look like a vibrating washing machine it feel like a some Ai took 2 hours of training and got pushed on stage."

Cheapo dance ananya pandey

Zero talent Nepo kid

Choreographed for #DigitalKotha by a pervert M guy
Bhagwan Natraj ke aage aise 😡

Ye👇🏼hai Bharatnatyam or other Indian Traditional dance forms ki sacredness🙏🏼🕉️pic.twitter.com/wxcVawoiM5

— ॐ Sri (नारायण ) Priya🔱🐚🚩(Gayatri)🇮🇳 (@SriPriya108) May 25, 2026

Another social media user compared angles from the film with footage of a trained Bharatanatyam dancer and wrote, "Cheapo dance ananya pandey. Zero talent Nepo kid".

Assistant Choreographer Defends Ananya Panday

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Ananya R Kurup (@ananyaakurup)

Despite the backlash, the film’s assistant choreographer Ananya R Kurup publicly praised Ananya’s efforts. She shared behind-the-scenes moments from the rehearsals and also uploaded a picture with the actor, along with a glimpse of her credit in the film.

In her caption, she wrote: “@ananyapanday you are truly one of the sweetest person I know!! It was such a lovely experience teaching you Bharatanatyam, and you’ve absolutely nailed your performance in Chand Mera Dil.”

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