No pressure to be perfect - Aadhya Anand

In Knock Knock… Kaun Hai? Aadhya Anand sheds softness of her earlier roles to step into something darker — a campus thriller where the lines between friendship, fear and identity constantly blur. As Tanya Arora, she plays a young woman navigating college crushes, chaotic murders, and her own unravelling.

“This was a breath of fresh air,” she says, reflecting on the switch from girl-next-door roles to something far more intense.

It’s a pattern you see across her growing filmography — a young actor who doesn’t just take roles, but grows through them. From Bombay Begums to Crushed, Aadhya’s journey is stitched with choice, courage, and a surprising amount of clarity for someone still in her teens.

Stepping into the shadows

Streaming on Amazon, Knock Knock is set in a fictional Mumbai university — a whodunnit with heart, but also with shades of psychological. For Aadhya, it meant stretching herself emotionally and energetically.

“This show was mentally exhausting in a way because there was a lot of crying, screaming, and yelling… there’s a scene where I'm just walking on the road and sobbing — for no reason,” she recalls. “That scene has stayed with me because I genuinely felt like Tanya at that moment. I could not sleep that night.”

Physically, too, it was a demanding role as she did her own stunts, and delivered chaos with conviction. “I had to be aggressive, run, fight — it brought out a side of me that I didn’t know existed,” she admits.

And yet, amid the high-octane scenes and emotional spirals, she also found control. “With every project, I get to know myself better. This one taught me that I’m capable of much more than I think,” she adds.

A Life in layers

Based in Singapore, Aadhya moved to Mumbai when she was 15. A performer since childhood, she had been doing theatre and TV — but the real switch came with Bombay Begums, her breakout role as a conflicted schoolgirl dealing with sexuality, grief and rebellion. “I was just 16. I hadn’t studied acting, but I was feeling everything so deeply,” she says. “That’s when I realised, ‘I want to do this for real’.”

That move — from feeling to craft — brought her to Mumbai, and eventually to Crushed, the romantic drama that cemented her popularity among Gen Z viewers. But with each role, Aadhya has been quietly recalibrating the kind of actor she wants to be.

“I’ve realised I love playing characters who are not entirely black or white,” she says. “Even Tanya — she’s sweet, but also selfish, intense, and unpredictable.”

Between takes and truth

Aadhya is aware of her image, but not bound by it. The “cute girl” tag, she admits, was both flattering and limiting. “But I also want to be intense and even do scary,” says the actor, reflecting on her work.

That push for reinvention is deliberate. She studies her performances, takes feedback seriously, and doesn’t believe in shortcuts. “If someone critiques me, I may feel bad momentarily, but I like knowing what didn’t work. It helps me grow.”

Off set, she’s surprisingly low-key. “I love going to art cafés, watching films — and not just Bollywood, but world cinema,” she says. “And sometimes, I like doing nothing. It’s very therapeutic.”

Looking ahead

For someone so young, Aadhya is already carving a diverse path in every manner — emotionally, creatively, and culturally. With roots in Singapore and dreams in Mumbai, she’s learning to bridge both worlds.

“I think being an outsider in the industry gives you a different perspective,” she says. “There’s no pressure to be perfect. I can fail, and it’s okay and quite freeing.”

And while she’s not in a rush, she’s quite intentional in her choices. “I want to do characters that challenge me. Even if I’m playing someone soft, I want them to have some sharpness or mystery.”

If Knock Knock is any indication, the mystery — and the mastery — is just beginning.