Janhvi Kapoor’s next film Mili is just around the corner. An official remake of Malayalam film Helen, Mili is a survival thriller that is produced by her father Boney Kapoor. Ahead of the film’s release on November 4, Janhvi gets candid with ETimes and talks about the film, her professional collaboration with her father for the first time, and anecdotes about her late mother Sridevi.
Your next film Mili, seems to be a father-daughter story, however, it’s a remake of a Malayalam film, Helen. Were there any apprehensions going into it?
No, because logistically speaking the film wasn’t dubbed and released in other languages, and I felt like it was such a good, simple story, and told so beautifully that it should reach as many people as possible. I wanted to try my hand, try to do my take on a performance like this because it’s such an opportunity for an actor to push yourself this way. Ironically, I was reflecting on most of my film decisions, barring Dhadak almost all of them, almost all my characters have had a strong connect with their mother or their father, even in Good Luck Jerry, it had a lot to do with her family. I think that organically that’s what moves me when I read scripts, so I gravitate towards it.
This is the first time you are starring in your father, Boney Kapoor’s production, however before this did you two ever discuss coming together for a film?
He has, we have spoken about a couple of things before, but at the heart of things this is a story of a father and a daughter and I think it felt like the right decision for me and Papa to collaborate on a story like this. Especially because I could see that it meant so much to him. Watching ‘Helen’ moved him so much that at first, when I’d actually said, maybe we shouldn’t make this movie, I don’t know if I should do it, he got very emotional. I remember he got teary eyed and said ‘I’m going to make this film whether you are in it, or not, this film needs to be made’. I realised it really does mean a lot to him, I need to do it.
Your parents have collaborated on so many films, Mr India, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, Judaai and Mom, which was your personal favourite?
‘Mom’ I guess, because I was around for the filming of it, and it was just such a thrill for me to see Mom and Dad collaborate professionally. They were on each other’s team in such an empowering way for a young girl to watch. Here’s a husband who is so encouraging of his wife’s career, who pushes her so much, puts her on a pedestal, and here’s a wife who’s so supportive and encouraging. That film went through its tough phases as well, but they way they stuck by it, the way they stuck by each other, the process taught me so much about the kind of relationship I would want with my husband and my family. Their professional partnership was so cool that they created something together as a couple and it meant so much to the both of them.
Mr India was one of their most iconic collaborations, did they ever tell you stories about that film?
Dad always spoke about it with respect to Mom in awe. He had all these anecdotes where he would say how she didn’t give him any ‘bhav’ on sets. He also told us how she did that Charlie Chaplin sequence when she was very sick, and she had a fever but she still shot for it. They actually only ended up using on 20 percent of the footage that they shot and there was so much that she given them. Even during the rain sequence in the ‘I Love You’ (Kate Nahi Kat Te) song, Mom was very unwell. So he always narrated these stories coming from a place of awe. Even when they were shooting for ‘Mom,’ they had segregated their relationship into professional and personal so well that, when we went for the outdoor, she made it very clear that she didn’t want to stay with him. He was so understanding and supportive as a husband. That dynamic felt very interesting to me, to watch them from going to basically stuck to each other 24/7 to then being colleagues.
At the trailer launch of the film your father said, stop comparing Janhvi to Sridevi, what’s your take on that?
I honestly don’t have any major problem with it, because logically you are going to compare her 200th film, to my 4th film, but that’s fine by me. You are going to compare me to someone or the other. I am flattered that the standards that you are holding me up to are the standards of the greatest, most iconic actor of Indian cinema. If you are comparing me to that, that’s what I think I need to aspire to be, then at least I will come close, so its motivating. Why should I be offended or be apologetic? We have the same genes, I have her blood.
Your social media game is on point and you seem to enjoy the platform, but have you ever deleted any comments or gone through the nasty ones?
No, I’ve never deleted comments. They’ve been really nice to me actually on my profile, they’ve actually been very sweet to me.
