You might know her as Farah Khan’s daughter, but Anya Kunder is quickly carving out her own identity—and it has nothing to do with dance numbers or film sets. While most celebrity kids make headlines for their Bollywood debuts, Anya is making news for something far more meaningful: saving animals.
Now 18 years old, Anya Kunder has quietly become one of the most inspiring young voices in animal welfare in India. And her story isn’t about privilege or connections—it’s about a teenage girl who saw suffering during the pandemic and decided to do something about it.
Who Is Anya Kunder? The Basics
Let’s start with the quick facts. Anya Kunder was born on February 11, 2008, as one-third of a set of triplets . Her siblings are Diva Kunder and Czar Kunder, and she’s the daughter of filmmaker-choreographer Farah Khan and filmmaker-editor Shirish Kunder .
Growing up in a household that breathes cinema—her mother is one of Bollywood’s most successful choreographers, known for films like Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om—you’d expect Anya to follow the traditional star-kid trajectory. But somewhere along the way, she chose a different path.
She studies at the Dhirubhai Ambani International School in Mumbai, one of India’s most prestigious schools, where she has also shown leadership skills. In 2025, she served as the head of layout and design for a major student event, showcasing talents that go far beyond her famous last name .
The PETA India Award That Started It All
The first time many people heard Anya’s name was in 2021, when PETA India awarded her the Compassionate Kid Award. She was just 13 years old .
But here’s what makes this story special: she didn’t get the award because of who her mother is. She earned it.
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, stray animals were in crisis. With restaurants closed and people confined to their homes, community dogs and cats that depended on handouts and restaurant waste were starving . Most of us watched the news feeling helpless. Anya, then 12, decided to act.
How a 12-Year-Old Raised Lakhs for Stray Animals
Here’s where Anya’s creativity shines. She couldn’t go out and rescue animals herself—lockdown restrictions made that impossible. So she used the one skill she had: art.
Anya started sketching portraits of people’s pets. In exchange for a ₹1,000 donation to animal welfare charities, she would draw their beloved dogs and cats . Word spread quickly, and soon celebrities were lining up to commission her work.
Who bought her sketches? The list reads like a who’s who of Bollywood: Tabu, Sonali Bendre, Zoya Akhtar, Tahira Kashyap, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sonu Sood, and Rajeev Masand . Each purchase meant another donation to organizations helping animals survive the pandemic.
Through this simple yet brilliant idea, Anya raised a total of ₹4 lakh (₹400,000) for multiple animal welfare charities, including PETA India .
More Than Just Art: Getting Her Hands Dirty
But Anya didn’t just stay behind an easel. Once restrictions eased, she got directly involved. She helped feed community animals on Mumbai University’s Kalina campus and actively encouraged people to provide food, water, affection, and veterinary care to strays .
Perhaps most heartwarming of all: she and her mother adopted two Indian dogs, whom they named Gulab and Jamun . In a country where “street dogs” are often overlooked in favor of expensive foreign breeds, this was a powerful statement.
PETA India’s Associate Director of Education and Youth Outreach, Puja Mahajan, summed it up perfectly: “At just 13, Anya has made a tremendous impact for vulnerable community dogs. This Children’s Day, PETA India celebrates her for giving people of all ages a lesson in practising kindness to animals” .
The Early Seeds of Compassion
Interestingly, Anya’s 2021 award wasn’t her first interaction with PETA. Back in April 2020—just as the pandemic was beginning—she had already raised ₹70,000 through the same sketch-for-donation model . That early effort caught the attention of celebrities and the public alike, setting the stage for the larger campaign that would follow.
What’s remarkable is the consistency. While many of us start charity projects with enthusiasm that fades, Anya kept going. The ₹70,000 became ₹4 lakh. The few sketches became many. The small effort became a movement.
Life Beyond Animal Welfare
Turning 18 in February 2026 marks a significant milestone for Anya . She’s now legally an adult, standing at the threshold of whatever comes next.
Besides her animal welfare work and leadership role in school events, she has also dabbled in creative projects. Her early portfolio includes work on PivotAI, an experimental project, and she even has an editorial department credit in a 2020 film database . Nothing flashy—just quiet evidence of curiosity and a willingness to learn.
Unlike many celebrity children who maintain active public social media presence, Anya keeps a relatively low profile. Her accounts are private, and she appears mostly through her mother’s posts or school communications . It suggests a young woman who values her privacy and isn’t rushing to turn her family name into a career.
What Makes Anya Kunder Different
In Bollywood’s star-kid ecosystem, there’s usually a predictable pattern: debut announcement, media frenzy, launch vehicle, and then… well, we see how that works out.
Anya has broken that pattern entirely. She’s not chasing film offers or endorsement deals. She’s not using her mother’s fame to launch a singing career. Instead, she found a cause that genuinely moved her and threw herself into it.
Is she perfect? Of course not—she’s a teenager navigating life in the public eye. But the choices she’s made so far suggest someone with genuine empathy and creative problem-solving skills. Those are qualities that will serve her well whether she eventually enters the film industry or charts a completely different course.
The Legacy She’s Building
PETA India has used Anya’s story as part of its Compassionate Citizen programme, which has reached approximately 89.8 million children across India through more than 1.9 lakh schools . That means her example is inspiring kids far beyond Mumbai’s bubble—children in small towns and villages are learning that they too can make a difference for animals.
That’s a legacy worth having. It’s not about box office collections or Instagram followers. It’s about showing that kindness isn’t passive—it’s something you do.
Final Thoughts
Anya Kunder isn’t trying to be a hero. She’s not looking for fame. She’s just a young woman who, when faced with suffering, asked herself what she could do to help. And then she actually did it.
In an era where cynicism is easy and action is hard, that’s worth celebrating. Whatever Anya chooses to do next—whether it’s college, a creative career, or continuing her animal welfare work—she’s already shown us who she is.
And that person is pretty remarkable.