After a big debut, Janhvi recalls her parents’ wisdom
Her big Bollywood debut has come at a tough time for young Janhvi Kapoor — when she has to look brave and play the star in public and is still deeply mourning her mother, the late superstar Sridevi, in private. So, the success of Dhadak means more to her than what it normally would to a newbie.
“The love has been overwhelming,” says Janhvi. “More than anything else, it feels good to know that we’ve moved people with this message that we were trying to convey. I’m just happy about any form of acceptance, so I have a chance to work more and do better at what I love. To see my father (film producer Boney Kapoor), Shashank (Khaitan, director of Dhadak) and Karan (Johar, producer of Dhadak) feeling so proud and happy means the world to me.”
The 21-year-old actor understands that it wouldn’t be easy to take the family legacy forward — her parents together made one of Hindi cinema’s biggest hits, Mr India (1987). But she feels lucky that she could learn so much about cinema right at home — both in terms of the art and the business. “It’s lovely to have had access to so much knowledge and seen two sides of the coin,” says Janhvi.
About mother Sridevi, she says, “She was such a creatively fuelled person, so emotional and sensitive. It was vibrant energy to have her around. Her knowledge of cinema and acting, I think, is unparallelled — she did 350 films from the age of four. Acting, for her, was instinctive; it was like breathing, not a textbook thing. She never gave me tips, but watching her was everything, even in daily life.”
From father Boney, she got a lesson. “Papa told me that just because you’re an actor and you’re dealing with emotions and you’re in front of the camera, it doesn’t mean yours is the most important job. Everyone’s job is important, everyone is doing their best. The most important thing is the film and nothing else,” says Janhvi.
How about working in a remake of one of her mother’s hit films, with her father producing it? “It’s daunting to even think about it, as it’s ten times more responsibility,” she replies. “I need to first prove myself to be deserving of such a great opportunity.”
Going back to Dhadak and her father’s and younger sister’s reaction to the film, Janhvi says, “Khushi was crying… She looked at me and said, ‘Why are you worrying?’ and then started crying again. Papa actually saw the film a month ago, and as soon as the screening was over, he went to the temple. That night he came to my room and held me tight and started crying.”