Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 3, 2018)

Mirror had recently reported (September 13) that Janhvi Kapoor who made her debut with Shashank Khaitan’s Dhadak in July, will be seen in another Karan Johar production. In this film she will be seen as Gunjan Saxena, one of India’s first female combat aviators to be posted in Kargil during the 1999 war. A source close to the actress says, “Janhvi will start prep in the next few days with basic flying lessons and sessions on how the Indian Air Force works and lives. She spent time with Gunjan a few months ago and will be meeting her again to understand her story better.”

Gunjan had evacuated injured soldiers from Kargil, flying through Kashmir and facing near death experiences. She, with fellow lieutenant Srividya Rajan, faced the enemy fire and brought soldiers home safe. She was awarded the Shaurya Vir. She is the first woman to receive such an honour from the army.

The film goes on the floors early next year. The actress has also signed Takht, also featuring Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Vicky Kaushal. The period drama will be directed by KJo himself.
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Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 3, 2018)

Even though Karan Johar is months away from rolling his magnum opus Takht — which also features Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Vicky Kaushal and Alia Bhatt, among others — his protege Janhvi Kapoor has busied herself with prep for the film. Turns out, the actor — who reportedly plays Zainabadi Mahal aka Hira Bai in the period drama — has been working closely with a diction coach to learn Urdu.

A source close to the actor tells midday, “Over the past four months, Janhvi has been training with a language coach to ace the finer nuances of Urdu, including diction and pronunciation. Since the film is said to be based in the Mughal era, she has also brushed up on her history. Her reading material includes Aurangzeb: The Man and the Myth by Audrey Truschke, and Storia Do Mogor by Niccolao Manucci.” According to reports, Singh plays Dara Shikoh, Shah Jahan’s eldest son, and Kaushal slips into the role of Aurangzeb.