In a career span of four years, Janhvi Kapoor has proved herself to hold a wide acting range with films like Ghost Stories, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Roohi making her stand apart from her fellow star. Her upcoming films including Good Luck Jerry, Mili and Bawaal are a testament to the fact that the actor doesn’t want to get bracketed.
In an exclusive interview with News18.com, Kapoor talks about her learning from working on Good Luck Jerry, how it’s not a conscious decision to select films with strong female characters, spending four years in the industry, and her thoughts on stardom.
When you announced the wrap of Good Luck Jerry last year, you put out a post on social media where you mentioned learning and unlearning a few things and evolving as an actor. What were your biggest takeaways?
Before Good Luck Jerry, one of the most visceral experiences that I had was on Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. Working on that film was such a beautiful and pure experience and I felt that was the only way to go about working on a film. But the world of Good Luck Jerry was so different, it was wild and chaotic. People perceive and categorise Jerry as a very naïve and innocent girl, but she’s so much more than that. I learned that there isn’t any set pattern in getting what you want to get. I realised to believe in myself and take the risks. I don’t know how the film turned out and that we will come to know only once the audience gives their reactions but this film definitely helped me grow as an actor.
The shooting of the film was stalled on a couple of occasions due to the farmers’ agitation in Punjab. How do these things affect you as an actor?
As a citizen of the country, there were many bigger things at play at that moment. And as an actor, I was concerned for the producers from the monetary point of view as each day costs money and the delays just increase the cost. Also, there are many people on the sets who are daily wage workers and for them, a non-shooting day costs their job so that was worrisome. So in the larger scheme of things what I was personally feeling was secondary.
You’ll be seen speaking the Bihari dialect in the film. What was the whole creative process like?
I think learning the accent was a challenge. She has a Bihari accent. And the dialect was a big part of trying to understand Jerry’s psyche. I remember doing workshops and at the same time I was auditioning for another film, and the director of that film told me that I am sounding like a Bihari. That gave me a lot of confidence for Good Luck Jerry. Also, the fact that she’s doing something that isn’t morally right. But she’s doing it for her family. So I think to not judge the character and to still make sure that she’s a protagonist and root for her was also tough. We also shot in Bassi Pathana, in Punjab in a house actually inhabited by a family there, so the local milieu and eating local food and interacting with the locals really helped me.
Be it Gunjan Saxena, Roohi, Good Luck Jerry, or Mili, all your films have strong women characters. Is it a conscious decision on your part to do such roles?
I don’t think it has been a conscious decision. I have just been doing the kind of films that excite me, roles that excite me. Honestly, I have been approached for a few films and at the same time I have been chasing some stuff and collaborating with some amazing filmmakers, At the end of the day, you can only perform in things that you are ultimately chosen for. And these are the films that ended up coming together for me and I am extremely thankful for that.
You complete four years in the industry on July 20. How do you look back at your journey?
I think I know my s**t a lot more today (laughs). I was an amateur when I started out but my intent and willingness to work hard have never changed. I think this is just the start, I wish I could do a lot more. The pandemic slowed things down a bit so a couple of years have gone by. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve started believing in myself a little more in terms of my craft. The idea has always been to take up challenges and to push yourself as an artist.
Do you ever think of the stardom that you have achieved so far?
No, I think stardom is a relative term. It will happen if I keep doing good work. My priority is to keep doing good work. I’m here to act and I’m getting the opportunity to be a part of some great stories. I want to try new things. Also, I am aware that just loving your job isn’t enough. You need to be obsessed with it and it needs to be your life.
Do you have a sense of belonging in the industry?
No, I want to belong a lot more than I do right now.
