Ananya Panday is the new Alia Bhatt? Mentor Karan Johar believes so!

The millennial star, Ananya Panday, who made her debut this year, alongside Tiger Shroff and newbie Tara Sutaria in Student of the Year 2, has already managed to win a spot in the hearts of the audience. Her mettle and mellow at such a naive age has helped her to emerge as the new teen sensation. The 20-year-old beauty is already the face of many iconic brands and enjoys a massive 4.3 million following on Instagram. Her So Positive initiative against cyberbullying has also garnered immense appreciation from all quarters. 

While Ananya is just one film old, she is often being set side by side with Alia Bhatt, who has already established a big name for herself in the industry. Both critics and fans are of the belief that the starlet may be following the footsteps of the Raazi actress, and is certain to emanate just like her.

To add heed to the already revolving analogy between Ananya and Alia, Mumbai Mirror has reported that their mentor Karan Johar is stoked up by the former’s popularity and has allegedly been calling her ‘the new Alia Bhatt’. 

Interestingly, Alia made her debut with the film Student of the Year in 2012 and also made a  cameo in Ananya's debut film, which was the second installment of the college-drama series. She featured in a special dance number alongside Tiger Shroff. The two divas seem to enjoy a good rapport and are often spotted together at several Bollywood parties.

Talking of Alia Bhatt’s cinematic graph in the industry, she started off at a very young age of 19 and went on to carve a niche for herself with her evolving acting and choice of scripts. She delivered one of the finest movies like Highway, Raazi, Gully Boy, Dear Zindagi, to name a few. She is among one of the most bankable actresses of the industry and has highly anticipated films like Brahmastra, Sadak 2 and RRR lined up for her in the coming year. Well, if Ananya is seeking inspiration from this commendable actress, it’s safe to say she’s on the right path.

Besides, Ananya too has two films in her pipeline, one being Pati Patni Aur Woh opposite Kartik Aryan and Bhumi Pednekar,  and the other alongside Ishaan Khatter titled Kaali Peeli.