In an era where celebrity endorsements are often predictable and carefully sanitized, Ananya Panday’s latest shampoo commercial has managed to stand out by doing the exact opposite. Released on Sunday evening and shared by Ananya on her Instagram, the new TRESemmé ad features an unlikely but thoroughly entertaining pairing: mainstream Bollywood star Ananya Panday and filmmaker-actor Anurag Kashyap. What unfolds is not just a brand promotion, but a sharp, meta commentary on cinema, celebrity stereotypes, and the clashing worlds the two figures represent.

At first glance, the collaboration itself raises eyebrows. Ananya Panday, frequently associated with glossy, commercial cinema and fashion-forward brand deals, shares screen space with Anurag Kashyap, the outspoken director known for gritty realism, indie filmmaking, and his vocal criticism of Bollywood’s star system. The ad leans fully into this contrast, using it as the central source of its humour.

The commercial opens on a film set where Ananya is performing an intense scene. She is shown as a kidnapped character, screaming for help, fully committed to the moment. However, the tension is abruptly broken when Anurag Kashyap, playing the director, yells “cut.” His problem? Not the acting, not the dialogue, but her hair. According to him, it looks far too perfect for someone who has supposedly been held captive. The interruption immediately sets the tone: this is going to be a playful dismantling of cinematic conventions and personal images.

Anurag goes on to question how her hair could look so smooth and camera-ready in such a dire situation, even pointing out that his assistant director’s hair looks more appropriately dishevelled. Ananya, completely unfazed, responds with a straight-faced yet cheeky explanation — she hasn’t washed her hair because she is a “method actor.” The line lands squarely, poking fun at the idea of method acting while also flipping the script on how seriously actors’ processes are often taken.

As Anurag grows increasingly irritated, the ad escalates. Ananya’s manager enters the frame, asserting that no additional products will be used to deliberately ruin Ananya’s hair for the scene. This only fuels Anurag’s frustration, pushing him into a full-blown rant that feels both exaggerated and oddly familiar to anyone who has followed his public persona over the years.

Then comes the ad’s most memorable moment: Ananya delivers a fiery monologue that blurs the line between scripted humour and self-aware satire. She calls out Anurag for previously referring to her dismissively as “Bandra Panday” while speaking to assistant directors — a clear nod to the industry’s class and credibility divides. She mocks the irony of him now nitpicking her shampoo and conditioner, of all things, after questioning her legitimacy as an actor. The monologue cleverly addresses long-standing criticisms aimed at her, turning them into punchlines rather than defences.

The commercial concludes on a perfectly absurd note, with Anurag Kashyap quietly stealing the TRESemmé shampoo from Ananya’s vanity van, suggesting that despite all his complaints, even he cannot resist the product. It is a tongue-in-cheek ending that undercuts his earlier outrage and neatly brings the brand back into focus.

Ananya accompanied the video with a caption that further embraced the joke. She wrote that an “Anurag Kashyap film” was not on her 2026 bingo card, adding that things went off-script because her hair “stole the scene.” She framed the entire exchange as a playful tantrum versus TRESemmé’s hair performance, before promoting the brand’s new Hydra Matrix range featuring Polyglutamic Acid and long-lasting hydration.

What makes the ad particularly effective is its willingness to laugh at everyone involved. Ananya pokes fun at her own public image — the polished star kid often criticised for being too glamorous or insufficiently “serious.” Anurag, meanwhile, leans into his reputation as the perpetually dissatisfied auteur, always searching for realism and flaws. The brand positions itself as confident enough to host this clash without forcing either personality to soften.

The response online was largely positive, with viewers appreciating the ad’s self-awareness and sharp writing. Many praised Ananya for embracing humour and irony rather than shying away from criticism, while others enjoyed seeing Anurag Kashyap in a lighter, more playful avatar. The ad also sparked discussions about how Bollywood advertising is evolving, increasingly relying on meta humour and personality-driven storytelling rather than conventional glamour shots.

Beyond the ad itself, the timing is notable for both stars. On the professional front, Ananya Panday was last seen in Tu Meri Main Tera Main Tera Tu Meri, co-starring Kartik Aaryan. Despite considerable buzz ahead of its release, the film failed to make a mark at the box office. Anurag Kashyap, too, has had a challenging recent run. His last directorial, Nishaanchi, did not perform well theatrically, with its second part eventually finding an audience on Amazon Prime Video.

In that sense, the ad also feels like a moment of reinvention for both. For Ananya, it is a chance to demonstrate comic timing and self-parody, signalling a growing comfort with her public narrative. For Anurag, it shows a willingness to participate in mainstream pop culture without completely abandoning his critical edge.

Ultimately, the TRESemmé ad succeeds because it is more than just a marketing exercise. It is a compact, cleverly written skit that acknowledges industry hierarchies, celebrity branding, and audience perceptions — all while selling shampoo. By allowing Ananya Panday and Anurag Kashyap to clash openly and humorously, it creates something genuinely memorable in a crowded advertising landscape, proving that sometimes, the best way to sell a product is to let personalities — and their contradictions — take centre stage.