All eyes are on Janhvi Kapoor — daughter of the iconic Sridevi whose demise earlier this year left a huge void in the Indian film industry — as she steps into Bollywood with her maiden film “Dhadak” on July 20.
The young actress says she wishes to bring back the magic of magnetic talents like Madhubala, Meena Kumari and Waheeda Rehman on the silver screen.
“I have watched Madhubalaji in films like ‘Mughal-e-Azam’, ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’ and ‘Mr & Mrs 55’. I have seen the beautiful Waheedaji in ‘Guide’, ‘Pyaasa’, Meena Kumariji in ‘Pakeezah’, ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’. Watching them, I get fascinated and mesmerised.
“I so wish to (re)create the magic of these legends on-screen. Every time I watch these films, I get motivated and tell myself, ‘Mujhe yeh karna hai (I want to do this)’… This magic, this performance,” said the 21-year-old, whose eyes lit up during an interview.
Janhvi has been getting a lot of attention from the media and the audience for her much-anticipated debut in a Karan Johar production which is a remake of Marathi cinema’s highly acclaimed “Sairat”.
Janhvi was very close to her mother. She says even though she has never tried hard to adopt Sridevi’s style, there may be certain things she has inherited genetically.
“I am my mumma’s daughter, so I look like her; but I know I am different. There was that one montage shot where I am drinking milk in a scene. For a fraction of second, I thought that was mumma… I was like ‘Oh God, wasn’t it her? Actually, in that shot, I saw my side profile.”
Jhanvi said: “I have one such image of mumma where she used to have juice in the early morning. So the moment I woke up and looked out for her around me, I would see her drinking juice from a side. So yes, that was one moment.”
“Dhadak”, directed by Shashank Khaitan, explores how the protagonists deal with issues like differences between castes and honour killings. The film is set in Rajasthan.
