I am also a switch on switch off actress like my mother : Jhanvi Kapoor

In this exclusive interview with Bollyy, Jhanvi Kapoor, daughter of Sridevi, who is making her debut in Hindi films with Dhadak tells Jyothi Venkatesh that Dhadak chose her and not the other way round.

What is your role in Dhadak ?

I play the role of a young girl called Parthvi Singh in Dhadak directed by Shashank Khaitan. Parthvi hails from a rich political family with a royal lineage and also is a little bit of a snob. Her family has converted their property into hotels.

Did you embrace acting because it runs in your genes ?

Having spent so much of my time on the sets of my parents, I have learnt what is filmmaking including post production, especially after observing my mom who I feel was the most accomplished actress the world has ever seen. Frankly I feel that actors are the most blessed as they hold a power over the audiences. Living the journey of Parthavi, I felt that I as Jahnvi could not have widened my horizons as a human being but for acting.

What did your mom want you to take up, if not acting ?

I wanted to do fashion and history but it does not mean that I decided to take up acting just because my mom was an actor. Khushi is passionate about acting but I want to give her the freedom to select what she wants to. My mom told me that she wanted me to take up history but I told her that I was very passionate about acting. I even worked on my diction to enable me to improve on my craft. I felt that acting by itself was like a life style and have always felt that I should always look fresh as an actor. Mom and dad saw that I was obsessed with acting. 

What did your mother Sridevi teach you as far as acting were concerned ?

My mother had told me that to be a good actor, one had to be a very good person. She was very sure that she did not want to impose her choice on me as an actor especially since she was very scared of any kind of comparison that I would have with her.

Are you too, a switch on switch off actress like your mother ?

My mom was the most accomplished actress in the film industry after having ac ted in over 300 films in Hindi as well as various South Indian languages like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Only Shashank Sir would be able to tell you whether I am also a switch on switch off actress like my mother.

How did you bag the role of Parthavi in Dhadak ?

Karan Johar had come home and made me read the monologues and dialogues of Dhadak. With him, it was like a mini audition for me since he had to decide whether worth investing his precious time in me. After that I was asked to report for a test shoot with Shashank. My selection for the role happened organically.

Did you also see Sairaat as part of your preparation for your role in Dhadak ?

No. I saw Sairaat but it was not to prepare myself for my role in Dhadak, because Shashank had specifically told me that he did not want me to get influenced with what Rinku Rajguru did in Sairaat.

Is it true that you also met a girl also called Parthavi by chance ?

Yes. I did meet a girl who was also called Parthavi. She was a very shy, ambitious as well as determined young girl who was a divorcee.  

Is it true that Student of The Year 2 also had been offered to you by Karan Johar ?

No. Student of The Year was never offered to me in the first place. It was one of the rumors which went around floating even before I landed the Dhadak role form Karan Johar.

Was Dhadak the first film that was offered to you ?

A few other offers had also come to me before I was sighed for Dhadak. I would only say that instead of me choosing Dhadak, it was the other way round and Dhadak actually chose me. It was big blessing for me to work with people like Karan Johar and Shashank Khaitan. I am thankful that Dhadak picked me up

Do you remember any other startling rumor which you had heard about you ?

I was once reading a book on terrorism and someone wrote that I had signed a film in which I was doing the role of a terrorist and substantiated the story with a photo of me reading the book

How did you prepare for your part in Dhadak ?

Just sitting with the script helped me hell of a lot, because the way Shashank had written the script, it was very clear. I also made it a point to meet a lot of similar kinds of families in Rajasthan which also had converted their houses into hotels and observed how they behaved in their day to day lives. Shashank also asked me to work on the back story of my character.

How did you approach your role in Dhadak ?

Shashank asked me not to approach my role the way Archie played by Rinku in Sairaat did because mine is a character which is quite different from the one that Rinku did in Sairaat. 

How tough was it for you to play a mother in the climax of Dhadak ?

It was very interesting to play the role of a young mother. We shot those sequences in the last leg of the shooting of our film. After the shooting of those scenes, the feeling of maternal instinct is there in me though I was not so fond of kids before I shot for the film. I now also feel more close to my mom after playing the young mother in Dhadak though it is Khushi who mothers me a lot these days

Do you remember any unforgettable incident on the sets of Dhadak ?

One day after a hectic day of shoot at Jaipur, Ishaan and I packed up. My dad and Shashank had specifically asked us not to ride a mobike but stealthily we decided to go on a bike without Shashank knowing about it and hey presto on the way we saw Shashank in the road and cleverly we had to duck and avoid him seeing us. He came to know about it only when we spoke to the media about the incident whether they asked us whether we played any prank on the sets.

Did your mom see Dhadak before her demise ?

Unfortunately my mom had only seen 20 minutes of the rushes of the film before her sad demise. She only said me sweet things but then any other would only say sweet things about her daughter. I do not want to divulge about anything that she advised me because I do not want to put pressure of the audiences.

How is Ishaan Khatter as an actor ?

Ishaan is a talented, energetic and passionate person and I had a lot of fun working on the sets with Ishaan. I also could learn a lot from him as far as acting is concerned since he already had to his credit a film like Majiod Majidi’s film Beyond The Clouds as an actor. Ishaan does not like to do rehearsals as an actor. In the second half of the shooting of Dhadak, Ishaan and I became more spontaneous than what we were in the first half of the film.

Is Ishaan better as an actor or as a dancer ?

Ishaan is any day much more talented as a dancer in addition to being a talented actor.

To what extent, were you under a lot of pressure while shooting for the film ?

While shooting for the film, frankly I never was under any kind of pressure. However, at the time of the release of the film, I have been subjected to a lot of pressure, because I now need to make my family proud with my performance in Dhadak. My family consists of my father Boney Kapoor, my sisters Anshula and Khushi, my brother Arjun Kapoor etc, who have stood by me through thick and think after my mother’s sad demise in Dubai. 

Which are the actors with whom you would like to share the screen space after Ishaan Khatter in Dhadak ?

I’d love to share screen space with Anil Chachu, Arjun Bhaiya etc.

Dhadak is a romantic emotional family drama. After Dhadak, in what kind of genre of a film do you want to star in ?

I want to do films in every genre after Dhadak. In fact, I’d love to try my hand at doing a comedy like mom did in Chaalbaaz.

How many languages do you know to read and write ?

I know English, Spanish, Hindi and French. Like my mom, I do not know how to read or for that matter write or speak in Tamil or Telugu.

Which are the films of your mom that you like the most ?

I have seen only her films like Sadma, Chaalbaaz, Mom and English Winglish and I like all of them the best

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Tags: Bollywood, Bollywood News, Bollywood Updates, Television, Telly News, Jahnvi Kapoor, Interview, Dhadak, Sridevi Kapoor, Jhanvi Kapoor, Karan Johar, Ishaan Khatter