Making her way down the decks of the luxury liner Queen Elizabeth 2, in Dubai, Janhvi Kapoor, has an undeniable star appeal. Dressed in a fluorescent green chiffon saree as she faces the International media for the promotions of her next melodrama Bawaal, she oozes confidence. But one can detect a certain note of shyness as well.
Literally born into the spotlight, the oldest of Sridevi and Boney Kapoor’s two daughters, Janhvi has had the public gaze permanently fixed on her as far as she can remember. The 26-year-old confesses that one’s image and what’s perceived is a professional hazard which comes with the job and the territory.
“The agenda is not to have a catered image that can sometimes aid or derail your actual job, it’s not the only thing one should focus on. There is a dichotomy to everyone, but in this day and age there is a pressure on public figures to cater to the perception they are trying to create. If I want to be taken seriously as an actor, then act like a serious actor, don’t go to parties, don’t dress a certain way, don’t be a glamorous person... But I am a serious actor, I give my life to the roles I do. However in my off time I want to travel, hang out with my sister and friends, or climb up Tirupati or just sit and crib to my father. I am all these people and am not scared to show it,” says Janhvi matter of factly.
Her choices are instinctive
Janhvi is her mother's daughter, but is her own actor when it comes to her choice of roles. Five years and six films old in the industry making her debut with Dhadak in 2018, Jhanvi’s film roster includes Ghost Stories, Gunjan Saxena :The Kargil Girl, Roohi, Good Luck Jerry and Mili.
The actor is candid when she says apart from challenging herself, her pursuit is to look for characters far removed from her own reality. In the Nitesh Tiwari directorial Bawaal, a role she auditioned for as well, she plays a young wife who along with her husband (Varun Dhawan) are faced with clash in ideologies.
“I think I found my confidence as a performer through playing this character. She is definitely my most mature character. I don’t think I am as wise as her. Hopefully it’s a step in the direction and my personality also,” she responds with a smile.
With her last few films being OTT releases, the actor like most of her contemporaries articulates how the platform gets them a wider audience and reach. As the industry goes through its own recalibration phase, Janhvi reiterates that her choices are instinctive and one hopes the audience feels the same as well. “I never watch my films beyond the rough cut, but with Bawaal, I objectively thought as a viewer and felt this is what they would want to watch.”
Privilege can become a burden
The young actor has constantly found herself drawn into the rhetoric of outsiders versus those born into illustrious film families with easy access to Bollywood’s elusive closed doors. When she says how she has had to overcompensate for her privilege, by pushing herself to her limits you hear her. “The biggest misconception about me is that they think I take my position for granted.They think that because I am privileged that it makes me unaware of what it’s like to work hard. But I guarantee you, I may not be the most talented, or the most beautiful and I may not have many skill sets to offer, but I promise you that I will be the hardest working person on the set, and this is something I can write in blood and give. You cannot doubt my hard work ever,” Janhvi says passionately.
The actor also has no qualms in calling directors whose work she has admired or asking to audition for a script that interests her. “I auditioned for Neeraj sir, I called up Imtiaz Ali, Vetrimaaran sir. Am very front footed about auditions, and think it’s exciting and wonderful.”
In awe of mom Sridevi
The actor confesses that she is looking to do a comedy film, after the spate of serious films. Her innate comic timing in Good Luck Jerry bore shadows of her late mother Sridevi’s knack for comedy. The actor laughs, “I could have well got that streak from my mother. I am quite the prankster. I like being the goofy one, I like making people laugh and falling on my face.”
Well aware of the legacy she comes from, she describes mother Sridevi’s stardom and unparalleled legacy as an ‘anomaly’. “I don’t think anyone will come close to my mother’s stardom. I wasn’t there when she was shooting at her peak because after I was born she took a break from movies. But I got a sense of it, the stardom, and now when people speak about her films, performances, the kind of person she was on set, her contribution, it’s something rare, it doesn’t happen twice, its once in a lifetime,” she says with pride.
