'This Year Brought Both Worst And Best Experiences Of My Life', Janhvi Kapoor Confessed

The 21-year-old actress was asked during a session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) about the impact her mother’s passing, actress Sridevi, occurring while Janhvi Kapoor was filming her big debut movie, Dhadak. She opens up about such experience as she looks back on the year 2018 as a whole, saying that it has been both the worst and the best moments in her life.

Kapoor starts off by showing her gratitude towards the filmmakers and fans, saying that the most important and valuable thing that she was given was a chance to make her parents proud. “It is hard, to say the least”, Kapoor follows up, “I was blessed and given such opportunity to work and perform, and I am thankful for that”. However, the young actress doesn’t deny the fact of such tragedy and the toll it has taken on her and her family’s personal life. “We are still in shock, so we haven’t been able to process it properly”.

Discussing on the matter of Hindi movie industry with Rumi Jaffery and Janhvi’s father, producer Boney Kapoor, the young actress think the movie is ahead of our time as it tells the story about the pressing social issue. Janhvi Kapoor believes that the “Golden Era” of Hindi cinema had given movies the freedom of expression. Using the movie “Mr and Mrs 55” as an instance, Janhvi Kapoor highlights the beauty and essence of feminism and how it was celebrated in such times.

Moreover, the Dhadak actor points out actress Madhubala’s marvellous performance and how she portrayed a wonderful female character in the time when feminism is a serious matter. Madhubala’s character was ahead of its time, and alongside Janhvi’s aunt, who was also in the movie, they embodied the essence and beauty of women. She voices her opinion on how people usually associate a movie with a lead female character as a non-heroic movie, stating that all-time classics such as ‘Bandini’, ‘Chaalbaaz’, ‘Mother India’, ‘Sujata’, ‘Sita Aur Geeta’, ‘Sujata’ were all having female heroes. Then the young actress brings the subject back to a conclusion by cementing Madhubala’s amazing performance in Mughal-E-Azam.

On the side of her father, producer Boney Kapoor, when asked about his decision of staying out of the big screen and work exclusively behind the camera, he reveals that between him and his younger brother, actor Anil Kapoor, someone has to take care of the family and take responsibility.

Boney also opens up about his passion for directing movies. He has had such passion in the past, however, his journey to the director seat has not been easy. He was once the assistant director of the movie “Phool Khile Hain Gulshan Gulshan”, but when the director passed away during the height of the production, alongside with his father’s health issues, his dream was pushed back and postponed. Nevertheless, Boney Kapoor assures the audience that his obsession with directing is still burning, and eventually, he will get his opportunity to fulfil this goal. The actor also briefly hints a possibility of assembling his whole “all-star” family in a future project.

Near the end of the session, Boney Kapoor gets emotional when talking about his late wife, saying that he is proud of his daughter and happy because Janhvi has had a hero and a perfect idol beside her the whole life. Janhvi ends the session by reciting a self-written poem for her late mother.