Hunkkaar Creators Karan D Kapadia and Nitya Mehra React to Aneet Padda ‘Nepo Baby’ Tag

Hunkkaar creators Karan D Kapadia and Nitya Mehra have laughed off the internet’s brief assumption that Aneet Padda was their daughter after the actress described them as her “Bombay parents”. The filmmakers also defended her journey, stressing that her success has been built on her own work and talent.

Aneet Padda’s career has changed dramatically since Hunkkaar: The Roar was filmed in 2024. The actress has since become widely recognised following her Bollywood breakthrough in Saiyaara, turning the upcoming JioHotstar series into an interesting snapshot of an earlier stage of her career.

For creators Karan D Kapadia and Nitya Mehra, however, Aneet’s rise has been a journey they have watched closely. The filmmakers previously worked with her on a short film and the acclaimed series Big Girls Don’t Cry before collaborating with her again on Hunkkaar.

Why Karan and Nitya Chose Aneet Padda for Hunkkaar

Nitya explained that their familiarity with Aneet played a role in bringing her into Hunkkaar. The filmmaker said they had first worked with her when she was still in school before collaborating again on Big Girls Don’t Cry.

“We had done a short film with her when she was out of school, then Big Girls Don’t Cry, and this was the next project. We, as filmmakers, and she, as a film child, were growing together,” Nitya said.

She described Aneet as a “chameleon” and said her ability to move between different emotional registers made her particularly suited to Hunkkaar.

The character required someone who could portray vulnerability while also embodying the strength of someone prepared to challenge powerful forces.

“She had that childlike quality needed for the character to be the face of the fight,” Nitya explained.

The filmmakers also wanted the story to move away from portraying the central character solely through the lens of victimhood.

According to Nitya, the intention was to show a character who could be vulnerable while simultaneously having “an entire nation behind her.”

Karan D Kapadia Says Aneet Was Always in Mind

Karan revealed that after their work together on Big Girls Don’t Cry, Aneet was already the actor they had in mind when developing the Hunkkaar character.

“After Big Girls Don’t Cry, it was always going to be her. When we wrote the character, it was this person,” he said.

Although the team auditioned several actresses, Karan said he believed Aneet could capture the different layers the role demanded.

He highlighted her ability to portray someone who has experienced trauma while retaining the maturity to understand what happened and the determination to fight back.

“I was convinced she’d play the vulnerability of a person who’s gone through this, yet have the maturity to understand what took place, and the fight, fire, and hunkkaar [inner roar] within her to take on this battle, speak her truth to power, and not go quietly into the night,” Karan said.

For him, casting Aneet ultimately became an easy decision.

“So it was a no-brainer,” he added.

Why Aneet Padda Was Mistaken for Their Daughter

Aneet has previously spoken affectionately about Karan and Nitya, referring to them as her “Bombay parents” in an interview with Cosmopolitan India.

The phrase reflected the filmmakers’ close relationship with her while she was living away from her family in Mumbai. However, the description was interpreted literally by some corners of the internet.

Online discussions and Reddit posts began referring to Aneet as their daughter, with some even using the term “nepo baby” to question her success following Saiyaara.

Karan recalled the episode with humour.

“First of all, I’m damn young, so it’s impossible I could be her biological parent,” he joked.

The filmmaker, who is himself a father to a six-year-old, said the assumption was particularly amusing.

Nitya added to the joke, saying Karan had reacted dramatically to the idea that people believed he could have a daughter in her early 20s.

“Karan was in depression! He was like, ‘How can the world think I have a 20- or 21-year-old daughter?!’ So he was going through his crisis on that,” she recalled.

Karan Says Aneet’s Success Should Not Be Dismissed

Beyond the humour, Karan said the incident reflected a broader tendency to question or diminish someone’s achievements after they experience an early breakthrough.

“As a society, we try to bring people down and take credit away: ‘Oh, she’s a nepo baby, she’s got backing,’” he said.

Karan stressed that, regardless of outside perceptions, people who reach a particular position through their work deserve credit for that effort.

“For Nitya and me, it’s very important to state that anyone standing where they are today is there on the merit of their hard work. No one can take that away,” he said.

Nitya echoed that sentiment, saying the terminology used to describe their relationship ultimately matters less to her than the pride she feels in Aneet’s growth.

“Whether she calls me a Bombay parent or whatever, I’m just damn proud of her,” she said.

Aneet Padda’s Journey From Hunkkaar to Saiyaara

The timing of Hunkkaar is significant because the series was filmed in 2024, before Aneet’s career received a major boost with Saiyaara.

Her subsequent rise means audiences will now see her in a project made before her breakthrough, offering a glimpse of an earlier phase of her acting journey.

For Karan and Nitya, that evolution has been visible across multiple collaborations. They have worked with Aneet from her early years as an actor and have now watched her reach a much larger audience.

What Is Hunkkaar: The Roar About?

Hunkkaar: The Roar also stars Fatima Sana Shaikh, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Raghubir Yadav and Zoya Hussain.

The series centres on a schoolgirl who alleges sexual harassment by a revered self-proclaimed godman. The resulting investigation forms the core of the story, with the narrative exploring questions of power, belief and the courage to speak out.

Hunkkaar: The Roar is scheduled to premiere on JioHotstar on September 25, 2026.