Janhvi Kapoor On Living With Tag Nepotism

Janhvi Kapoor On Living With Tag Nepotism: At School, I Was Told That Teachers Praise Me Because My Parents Are Famous

Janhvi Kapoor talks about how he has lived with the label of nepotism all his life. As his film Roohi opens, he talks about his parents, Boney Kapoor and Sridevi, and his cinematic journey.

Janhvi Kapoor is charmingly self-critical. But it comes not so much from self-awareness as from doubt. "There is a question that 'Did I really do that well or are people praising me like that?"

Janhvi, daughter of the late star Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor, became famous even before her debut with Dhadak in 2018. The extent of her popularity can be more accurately measured by another piece of information: the water bottle she was carrying. The gym has its own fan page. It's the kind of madness that many Bollywood stars would dream of privately.

However, Janhvi says that privilege has already bogged her down. “I have been openly aware of my privilege since I was a child. It's not like nepotism started to exist for me when I entered the movie industry. It has been around since I was a youngster. At school, if I got good grades or if the teacher congratulated me in front of the class, there would be students who would say, 'Arey because your parents are famous, that's why he's sucking you.'

Janhvi's nervous body language around unfamiliar people, in this case journalists, paints the picture of a woman who remains skeptical of any compliments that come her way. The actor is now conditioned to judge himself even before someone else. “I have gotten that (advantage update) for my entire life. It was consistently in my mind that I need to accomplish more to substantiate myself, to overcompensate ... Or on the other hand that self-question ... I've generally conveyed it with me, luckily, or lamentably. "

Janhvi, however, is quick to clarify that he would not want his hyperconsciousness to win over the public. SSince his lukewarm 2018 creation debut on Dharma, Janhvi Kapoor has chipped away at Ghost Stories with chief Zoya Akhtar, Gunjan Saxena's biopic again with Karan Johar, and the forthcoming Dinesh Vijan-upheld Roohi. An actor without a famous last name would not even allow himself to dream of a Karan Johar release, much less such enviable titles, especially after the debut he had.

“I understand where people come from. Perhaps I didn't give them enough to feel persuaded that she merits a spot in the business when Dhadak tagged along. For some people, I did. For some, I didn't. I think more people were convinced after Ghost Stories. A little more after Gunjan. And I wait a little longer after Roohi. But that's what you do, you keep working. I'm happy that this has been and is my journey because it motivates me to work harder, ”says Janhvi.

The actress has resigned herself to the constant scrutiny and pessimism that surrounds her, but there are times when it becomes too "disorienting" to make sense.

Janhvi talks about the release of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl last year, which was marked by controversy around sexism that the film claimed was prevalent in the Indian Air Force.

Janhvi says he never imagined that he would find himself switching between glorification and backlash.

The criticism intensified due to the negative sentiment of the audience towards Bollywood star children. Gunjan Saxena released amid the raging debate against nepotism sparked by the suicide death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.