Conspiracy theories and manifestations both tend to inhabit social media. Add a bit of Bollywood masala and feelers of rivalry, what you get is a winning combination that can keep the rumour mills running until the next conspiracy theory starts to pick up steam.
The latest edition of 'who took a potshot at whom' has Alia Bhatt and Ananya Panday at the centre.
A section of X users believe that Ananya Panday liked a post calling Alia Bhatt an "opportunist" for trying to get into Dhurandhar director Aditya Dhar's good books by praising his wife, actor Yami Gautam for her performance in social drama film Haq, which recently started streaming on Netflix.
"She's such an opportunist after bahubali she begged rajamouli for RRR, after pathaan begged adi for alpha, after kalki begged nag ashwin for a film, after stree 2 crawled into the mhcu and now after dhurandhar she's trying to be friends with yami so she can beg aditya dhar too (sic)" wrote an X user as a quote tweet to a separate post calling Alia Bhatt "the biggest beggar of India".
The same user was blown away after she spotted that Ananya Panday had seemingly liked her post calling Alia Bhatt out.
Then there was no end to the drama.
"Ananya Panday liked a post dragging alia, ngl i am loving the catfight (sic)" wrote an X user.
"Remember Alia ignored Ananya Panday," said another, referring to the awkward moment at the Filmfare OTT Awards 2026.
"Nepo on nepo crime," added a user.
The Rumoured Rift Between Alia Bhatt And Ananya Panday
But this rumoured rift goes a little bit back into the past and on filmmaker Karan Johar's popular Koffee With Karan couch.
Ananya Panday had appeared on one of the episodes of the celebrity chat show with Tiger Shroff and Tara Sutaria to promote her acting debut Student of the Year 2 in 2019.
Karan Johar had asked Ananya Panday what she has that her senior Student of the Year co-stars Sidharth Malhotra, Varun Dhawan, and Alia Bhatt don't. In her reply, Ananya Panday had taken a swipe at Alia Bhatt from the very infamous Koffee With Karan episode, saying, "I think hopefully we know the President of India.
Recently, many social media users thought that Alia Bhatt ignored Ananya Panday at the Filmfare OTT Awards 2026. In a viral video doing the rounds on the Internet, Alia Bhatt is seen hugging her Raazi and Love & War co-star Vicky Kaushal with Ananya Panday feeling a bit out of place as the duo were engrossed in conversation.
When Alia Bhatt sits down on the seat next to Ananya Panday, the latter misjudges the situation and goes in to greet the former who was actually saying hello and going to hug director Vikramaditya Motwane who was seated just behind her, creating an awkward moment for the junior Student of the Year co-star.
What Alia Bhatt Wrote In Yami Gautam's Praise
Recently, in an Instagram Story, Alia Bhatt praised Yami Gautam for her performance in Haq, a film based on the landmark 1985 Shah Bano case.
"Queen @yamigautam you are pure craft, heart and all things gold in Haq! One of my top female performances of all time... As I mentioned over the phone too.. I am a Yami fan waiting eagerly for all your work to once again charm and entertain us all," she wrote.
How Yami Gautam Replied To Alia Bhatt's Post
Yami Gautam replied to Alia Bhatt, saying, "It takes a brilliant actor & gem of a person herself to be so generous with her perspective! Have always admired your work & ethics, Alia! Such a heartfelt & honest conversation we had this morning! To many more of such moments & always rooting for each other, celebrating this empowerment today & every day!"
Alia Bhatt previously praised Dhurandhar, directed by Aditya Dhar, in her Instagram Story, calling the Ranveer Singh-starrer "Movie magic".
Also Read | Samantha Ruth Prabhu Reviews Yami Gautam's Haq: 'I Felt Love, Rage, Strength, Vulnerability'