Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; November 4, 2022)

While she is beautifully romancing the camera, and in her own words sharing a certain ‘intimacy’ with it, with every film, Janhvi Kapoor is forming a connect, a relationship with the audience. When asked about it, she unflinchingly says, “It’s tough to have an objective view of how people look at you. It keeps changing.”

That’s Janhvi for you, whether it’s a conversation or a portrayal (on screen), her honesty and vulnerability add that special something to her persona. She leads the show in yet another performance-driven film, Mili, backed by her father Boney Kapoor, in collaboration with Zee Studios. The survival thriller, where she is trapped in a freezer, releases today. It’s probably the only time she froze in front of the camera, literally. In a chat with us, Janhvi talks about the film choices she has made, the direction she wants to head, and what moves her heart. Read on…

Your films, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Roohi, Good Luck Jerry, and now Mili, have you playing the titular role. It reflects on your choice of films — performance-driven, unpredictable and each starkly different from the other. Is it by design or coincidence?
I think it is a coincidence. It never occurred to me until it was pointed out. It was never my approach or plan, as I look at every film as an opportunity to grow as an actor. It so happened that these films offered me the most scope from what I was getting.

For an actor of your age and the stage you are at, you have chosen fairly unique and offbeat subjects, and by that, I don’t mean that they aren’t commercially viable. The subjects stand tall, the story drives the show and you pack in all that you got. It must be exciting, but needs guts, right?
I think that’s the thrill of it. I like taking on characters and worlds that are as different from mine and as different from each other as possible. Firstly, it makes my job as an actor easy, as I don’t have to look at a script and say, ‘Oh, how do I play this girl-next-door differently from the previous one?’ The character is already so diverse on paper. Also, I know my life, so if I get a chance to play a glam, urban girl, it will come easier to me, but I don’t know how much that would help me grow as a person. All these characters that I have played so far have added so much to me as a human being. I like the feeling that I am becoming a wholesome person through my art. Having said that, I am very excited and keen to play a conventional heroine now, because I think that I have spent so much time looking for diverse roles that the things that come naturally to me, I haven’t done that. I really want to do that. I want to do the song and dance routine; I enjoy that, and I have grown up watching those movies. I love seeing heroines presented beautifully in these larger-than-life films. I want people to look at me like that and I want the chance to be that way. I haven’t given myself that chance as I have been so caught up in honing my skills as an actor. I didn’t realise it and I think it was arrogant of me to ignore that there is a special skill set required for that kind of performance as well, where you create an impact and make the audience fall in love with you through your nakhras and adaas. I want to do that, and it will be my next challenge.

Mili also marks your first collaboration with your father, Boney Kapoor. Was he deeply involved at every stage of filming?
He is a really creative producer. I have done several films, and I have seen how most production houses have a machinery under the producer to take care of technicalities. In my father’s case, even at this age, I see him flying off to cities to put marketing plans in place, trying to see the cuts of the trailer and songs and ensuring that they are out on time. He is so invested in every detail. Other producers have a team who the actors communicate with, but here I am communicating with him and it is not because he is my father. Just the other day, I was upset with him about this and I told him that you are not 20 something anymore and you have the luxury of deputing work to people, so you don’t need to take flights for one meeting. He says, ‘This is my life, I need to be hands-on and that’s the joy of it’. I have always seen him this way, but I had never understood his level of investment until now.

So, your previous film Good Luck Jerry was a remake of a Tamil film, and Mili is a remake of the Malayalam film, Helen. While working on remakes, do you watch the original material and eventually, put in a lot of thought into how you would give the character your own spin?
In the case of Mili, I have seen bits and pieces of the original. If you start out with that approach, then you are not being true to the material that you have. Your agenda should be, mujhe achha kuch karna hai over mujhe alag kuch karna hai. Same ho, alag ho, usse farak nahin padta. Thankfully, Good Luck Jerry was a completely different world, and there was no way that the performance could have been similar. With Mili, the director, (Mathukutty Xavier) who also directed the original, told me that he didn’t want me to see the original film or even read the script. He told me not to learn my lines. He said, ‘You have played characters so much that I don’t know if any film has captured your energy as a daughter, and that is an integral part of the film. So be the way you are with your dad at home.’

So, in that sense, you came on set with a certain unpreparedness and that’s what gave your character the edge it needed?
My director told me that my character isn’t prepared to go into the freezer, so there was no way I could prepare for that. He had built a -15 degrees cold storage that we shot in, where I actually felt cold, shivered and felt suffocated. We would do 15-minute long takes, where he would give me activities for survival, like lighting a fire with the objects I had at hand. It was exciting, and it gave me a lot of freedom. My relationship with the camera grew very intimate with this film. I felt more at home than ever, because I felt like I bared my soul, so now, I can’t ever be shy in front of the camera again.

So, you are saying that in the most contained environment that you shot in, you felt absolutely free as an actress. Interesting.
Yes, I felt so free, and all of those feelings were so visceral. There was no choice but to be open andbare my soul.

Good Luck Jerry released on OTT recently, and earlier, you were part of the web anthology Ghost Stories, which was made for consumption on a digital platform. As a mainstream movie actress, has the OTT wave somewhere changed or influenced your career choices, the way you view cinema, and the way you want to present yourself as an actress?
I would really like to think that it’s a producer’s job to think about how he wants to mount the film and release it — OTT or the big screen. My job as an actor is to pick scripts that resonate with me. I think it is silly to look at a film and say, ‘Yeh OTT hai toh iska performance aise hoga.’ Yes, when it comes to choices, there is an awareness that a certain kind of film might be more viable on OTT. However, I don’t like that to jade my approach towards my work too much.

Right. But OTT does give you more choices, more freedom and opportunities to present yourself in different ways…
Yes, there is a sense of liberation knowing how much reach the OTT platform has now. I think, at one point, there was a stigma attached to it… ki yeh toh digital pe jaayegi, and people would act like…yeh toh barbaad ho gaye! Now it’s something to be excited about, given the huge global reach that digital platforms have. I am glad that the evolution of the OTT platform has happened and has spoiled us for choices. Having said that, nothing can take away from the magic of cinema on the big screen and the community viewing experience.

From your first film Dhadak to now, do you believe that you have found more acceptance and more love from the audience? Did you ever fear that, given your privileged background (and there are often discussions around privileged actors in Bollywood), you would take a bit longer to get there?
When I am asked this question, on some days, I feel great and think that people are finally noticing my work, and then, on some days, I feel maybe they will never notice. So, I don’t know… it’s tough to have an objective view of how people look at you. It keeps changing. You do one right thing and you are everyone’s favourite for five minutes, and then, you do one wrong thing, and everyone hates you for the next ten minutes. It’s very transient. I have realised that I don’t want to get too attached to people’s opinions of me. I am confident in knowing that I have a lot to offer as an actor, and by that, I mean my hard work more than anything else. I know that I still have a long way to go. I am ready to keep my head down and keep working. As far as what people think of me, maybe you should ask me after Mili releases, I will have more clarity (laughs!).

In an interview with us, your dad said that we should wait and watch you in a full-on comedy role, as your comedy timing is great and that you get your sense of humour from your mother. What do you say?
At home, they all call me a joker, even my mom would call me a joker. I think my humour comes from my mom’s side of the family, because I spent a lot of time with them. Khushi’s humour is more like the Kapoors, and mine is more like the Ayappans.

Is there any other quality or trait of your mother that you see strongly in you?
I think it is my hyper nature, especially when it comes to Khushi and dad. I can deal with anything, but if I feel that dad is upset with me, or something is off with Khushi, or if Arjun bhaiyya and Anshula didi aren’t in a good frame of mind, it throws me off and I can’t sleep, I feel uneasy and become a wreck.

There is a lot of talk, debate, confusion and even chaos in our industry about what is working on the big screen and what is not. Some believe that larger-than-life films will bring in the audience, while some believe that we have to put out the best content, and that’s all that matters. With Mili hitting the theatres today, are you more anxious about it than you would be pre-COVID times, given the current scenario?
I am a firm believer that there is a realignment happening in the film industry, but that doesn’t mean that a good film won’t get its due. And does getting its due mean the same monetary value it got pre-pandemic? Maybe not. We will have to change our barometer to measure the kind of love a film gets. So, I am hopeful for the sake of my dad and also because I believe a lot in what we have made. I think it will get its due.