Janhvi Kapoor on being a bundle of nerves on maiden day of Dhadak shoot, missing mom Sridevi at trailer launch
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; June 12, 2018)

"I miss her today," said Janhvi Kapoor, as she remembered her mother, late Sridevi, at the trailer launch of her first film, Dhadak. Though she's venturing into Bollywood with a Karan Johar film, the jitters were apparent from the 21-year-old's demeanour. Dhadak is a remake of the 2016 Marathi hit, Sairat. "Mom and I had a long discussion about Sairat [after we watched it at home]. She wanted a role like that for me and then Karan called," recalls Kapoor.

The young actor didn't watch the original after receiving the first draft of Dhadak on director Shashank Khaitan's command. "My character is different from the female lead in Sairat [played by Rinku Rajguru]. I wanted to be honest to the part I was playing. Shashank helped me get the tone right. We went through multiple reading sessions before starting to shoot," says Janhvi Kapoor, who stars alongside Ishaan Khatter in Dhadak.

While the newbie was a bundle of nerves on the first day on set, she says the makers ensured she was comfortable. "The first day was fun. Shashank had established a safe haven for us and we were already feeling like a family. But I was nervous. I didn't sleep the night before we started rolling. We kicked off with Yaad Lagla [the song adapted from the original film]," she says.

Jahnvi will shine, says KJo
Karan Johar, who launched Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan and Sidharth Malhotra in 2012, met Janhvi Kapoor through Manish Malhotra. "When I met Janhvi, I was taken in by her innocence and excitement to face the camera. I made her recite poems and say dialogues, and she had the potential to shine, which was evident from her enthusiasm," he says.


Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar in a still from Sairat