‘I AM SURE JHANVI IS READY FOR HER CHALLENGES’

Sridevi says she feels like a newbie, even as daughter Jhanvi steps into films

Let me tell you, I feel like a newcomer,” Sridevi asserts, breaking into a giggle, even as she prepares to let her elder daughter, Jhanvi, loose in the world of films. The veteran actor says that nothing comes easy in life, and that she is sure that Jhanvi – already a paparazzi favourite, and making her Bollywood debut with the Hindi remake of Marathi flick Sairat – is ready to face her challenges.

“She has been watching me, and knows what she is getting into,” the actor says, adding, “Nothing is going to be a cakewalk in any profession. You have to work hard, [but] I’m sure she is ready for it.”

However, Sridevi, who sounds confident about Jhanvi carving out her own way in films, does have her share of worries as a parent. “I am, of course, worried when they go out, but they are responsible children, and [thus] half the battle is over. But the concern will never go,” admits the 54year-old.

First seen decades ago in Solva Sawan (1978), Sridevi — who went on to wow diverse generations of viewers with performances in films like Sadma (1983), Mr India (1987), Lamhe (1991), English Vinglish (2012), and Mom — surprisingly steers clear of complaining about the lack of roles for female actors past a certain age. “I feel my career has just started (laughs). I feel like a newcomer,” she quips, and downplaying any talk of accomplishment, even as actors much younger continue to pen autobiographies, adds, “Maine kuch achieve nahin kiya, that I write about my story. There’s a long way to go.”

Far from looking back on her life and career, at this point in time, Sridevi is only raring to deliver more. “There are two films that are coming up, but it’s too early to talk about it,” she says. The actor has come a long way from her earlier, shy self, and has opened up to an environment where celebrities need to go all out to promote her projects. “I am definitely introverted and shy, but thanks to my children, I have opened up. You can’t be like what you were; it doesn’t work that way,” she signs off.

PHOTO: YOGEN SHAH

PHOTO: MANOJ VERMA/HT Sridevi says her children have helped her open up to media and fans