Janhvi reveals how her films have helped her cultivate self-confidence

Mumbai, Aug 3  Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor has cemented her position as a star with five diverse films in her journey of four years which started with

“Dhadak”, the Hindi remake of Nagraj Manjule’s popular Marathi musical “Sairaat”.

But, despite all the noise around nepotism, she has had her fair share of emotionally taxing experiences that have added to her performances on a subconscious level in her opinion.

The actress, who made her digital debut with her second anthology “Ghost Stories”, has recently come out with yet another streaming film titled “Good Luck Jerry” which like her debut, is a remake of a Tamil film “Kolamaavu Kokila” starring Nayanthara, who recently got married to Vignesh Shivan.

Janhvi spoke to IANS about her journey, so far, the emotionally draining moments and her vision towards her filmography.

The actress wants her filmography to be defined by scripts that appeal to the audience on an emotional level, as she said: “The kind of films that I gravitate towards, have an emotional connect (sic), I want to make people laugh and cry but more than anything, it’s important for me that I move people with my ability as an actor.

“I try to include those films in my filmography that can move people and I choose my scripts, accordingly. Having said that, I really want to do a full fledged front footed comedy.”

“Good Luck Jerry” tells the story of a girl who’s trying to make it in a not so easy world and wishes that she has a bit of luck by her side.

So how much does Janhvi herself believe in luck or for her hardwork is the only vehicle to move forward in life?

A thoughtful Janhvi said: “You can’t only rely on luck, it makes you complacent. Luck does play a part in a person’s life and success but, hard work is something that materialises the success, also your outlook is an important factor.”

For her, “art imitating life happens all the time – consciously or subconsciously”.

She opines that one can’t make something that they don’t know anything about. People won’t watch it unless they feel that it relates to them.

Also, with every film that she has done, the characters go through the same journey she has on a personal level.

Taking a slight pause, she mentioned: “With ‘Dhadak’ as everyone knows, there was a huge loss in my personal life similar to my character in the film, for ‘Gunjan Saxena’ she also faced the problem where everyone told her that she doesn’t belong to a place where she wishes to be in.”

The firmness in her voice soon kicks back in: “There was so much chatter around nepotism and how I don’t deserve the opportunity that I have got. While shooting for ‘Roohi’, I felt like I needed people to take care of me, then finally realised that independence is of true essence as she goes on to marry herself. So yeah it all has been closely interlinked for me.”

Her character in “Good Luck Jerry” seems to have rubbed off on her to a great extent as she said: “Earlier, I used to play down in complicated or confrontational scenarios. But, with time I realised that I am a person with opinions, who stands by them.

“I don’t mind people not taking that in their stride with me putting forth my opinion. Through the course of this film, I have changed from a people pleaser to the one who stands by what I truly believe in,” she signed off with a heartwarming smile.