5 reasons why Ananya Panday can be the next Alia Bhatt!

Alia Bhatt made her big Bollywood debut in 2012 with Student of the Year. Six years since, she’s proven to be a formidable actor and a bankable name in the industry. One of the top actresses from the Gen-Now brigade, Alia’s choice of scripts and her performances to back them have made her an industry favourite. Now, this year another star kid – Ananya Panday – is all set to make her debut and the comparisons have already begun. The two do seem to have more things in common than one. Here’s looking at some of them…

# Star Kid: Daughter of Bhavna and Chunky Pandey, like Alia, Ananya too is a star kid. As kids, both were kept away from the public glare and came in the spotlight ahead of their debut films. Interestingly, both Alia and Ananya have always wanted to act since their school days.

# Student of the Year connect: Alia made her debut with Student of the Year, and now Ananya’s starting her Bollywood journey with its sequel, Student of the Year 2. And like Karan Johar’s first student passed with flying colours, we are sure Ananya too will follow!

# The cute quotient: Both Alia and Ananya score real high on the cute-o-meter. Fans dig Alia’s fresh-faced innocence more than just her hot quotient. And buzz isn’t too different about Ananya. Like Alia, Ananya’s followers on the social networking sites can’t seem to get enough of her adorably cute looks.

# The same mentor: Like Alia, Ananya is also being trained and mentored by KJo. It’s no secret that KJo is very fond of Alia, who takes his advice very seriously. Ananya too follows her mentor’s words to the tee.

# Talent runs in the blood: Belonging to the film background, both Alia and Ananya have a gene pool that boasts of talent as well as have had an early exposure to the performing arts. Alia’s father Mahesh Bhatt is a celebrated filmmaker, while Ananya’s father, Chunky Pandey has impressed one and all with his comic timing.

With so many similarities, little wonder then that the industry has all eyes on the newbie to see if she can emulate Alia Bhatt’s success and popularity. Do you think that she’s the next Alia? Share your thoughts in the comments section below! Also, watch this space, as we get you all the updates about Ananya Panday, Student of the Year 2 and Bollywood right here.