‘I need to prove to myself that I got the role on merit’
...SAYS JANHVI WHO FEELS THAT IF THERE ARE PROJECTS THAT SHE WANTS TO WORK ON, SHE NEEDS TO AUDITION. AND SHE ENJOYS IT
When you meet Janhvi Kapoor, the first thing she wants to know is how you liked her film Good Luck Jerry and her performance in the OTT release. There is a bit of a trepidation in her voice as she asks that question. We speak to her about films, her mother and other subjects.
Q
Everyone is speaking well of you and Good Luck Jerry!
I am scared to believe it. A lot of people have this tendency to believe that their film is a success and that their performance is liked, when the truth is
otherwise.
QIn the film, you display a marked change of tone in your
Bihari accent and when you speak in the Punjab setting.
I am so glad you caught that because that was conscious. We put in a lot of effort into that. It was to make the scenes authentic. The role was of a girl who migrated with her family to Punjab early in life. Her struggle was always to
fit in and hence she would speak as little Bihari as possible.
Q You shot for two months for the movie. Was it tough to get it out of the system?
I spent 65 days in that zone. It helped a lot that we shot in one stretch, but honestly it was a draining experience emotionally. When they called wrap, I said ‘OK, let’s get this out of my system.’ I actually left the country for a few days to forget the mood I was in.
Qdid it trouble you?
Well, I was auditioning for a couple of films when I was shooting for this one, and I just couldn’t drop the accent. One director told me that I was sounding too Bihari. He said, “You are playing a girl from Lucknow. What is wrong with you? Why
are you getting into the Bihari accent?”
Q
I understand you love auditioning and insist on auditioning for all your roles!
I do audition a lot, yes. The thing is, I am fortunate enough not to have to struggle to get an audition. I don’t have to stand in queues at Aram Nagar (a prominent casting location in suburban Mumbai) to get a meeting with the casting director. But if I think I will keep getting good offers, then I am stupid. If there are projects that I want to work in, I will need to audition. And the fact is I actually enjoy auditioning.
The fact is I need to prove to myself that I got the role on merit and it feels good at the end of the day. I feel good that I got a film on my own steam.
Q
How do you look back at life since your debut film Dhadak?
It has been a short journey. I feel I haven’t even started. I have to do so much and I have so much to prove. There are so many people to win over and so much more to prove to myself. What I like about my journey so far is that there has been some progression. It is not that people have welcomed me with open arms. It has been an uphill climb — but I like a challenge.
Q You have always wanted to be an actor like your mom. Why didn’t you start off as a child actor like her?
She didn’t want me to act. She told me that I was too naïve and too soft-hearted to act and she was very scared about how people would compare my first film to her 300th film. She said, ‘How are you going to deal with that pressure?’
She kept saying that she worked her whole life so we could have a comfortable one. She would also say that I would be constantly scrutinized for having a comfortable life that she worked to give us, or perhaps I would never get to enjoy the comfort by getting into the rat race.
QSO what brings you here?
I am so consumed by my love for films. Acting is the one thing in my life that gives me the most happiness — that is my purpose in life. I can’t treat it like a 9-5 job.
Q What about the South? There has been so much talk about that.
I really want to do projects down south. There was a big conversation at home. I wanted to act in my first film in the South. I am such a fan of Telugu, Malayalam and Tamil cinema and even Kannada these days.
I relate to them very organically. And they have given me and my family so much love. I am just waiting for the right kind of film to start work on.
If Hindi cinema worshipped Mom, the south is another level. I don’t want to do just anything for the sake of doing it. I want to give back to them the love that they have given Mom and me.