Janhvi Kapoor says she can’t emulate her mother Sridevi

Janhvi Kapoor said that 2018 had been a mixed bag for her during a session at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) on Wednesday.

The young actor told that she had the “worst and best experience” of her life in the same breath. 

Janhvi Kapoor attended the session with her father Boney Kapoor and in a conversation with Rumi Jaffery, Janhvi opened up about her life.

Janhvi’s mother Sridevi passed away earlier this year while she was still filming her debut film, Dhadak.

The 21 year old actor talked about how she has emerged as stronger in trying times and her personal growth has been ‘tremendous’. She said, “It’s harder to say anything... When I say ‘growth’, I mean personal growth, I don’t know about artistic. This year brought me both the worst and the best experience of my life. It’s a little strange... Our family is now united, so that is very big thing for me.”

Janhvi said she was happy that she made her parents proud. Sharing her struggles after her mother’s death she added, ““But whatever happened that too was very heavy (tragedy). We are still in shock, so we haven’t been able to process it properly. I’m really thankful for all the love that we have received and I got a chance to work, which is a big thing for me. I got a chance to make my parents proud, which is most important for me,”

The Dhadak actor further talked about the films made earlier and how that time was the Golden Era of the industry according to her father. She shared that Madhubala is her favorite actress and Dilip Kumar and Guru Dutt as her favourite actors. “I think she is not given that much credit for her acting talent because she was so beautiful. But the work that she has done, so spontaneous… I don’t think the way she worked in Mughal-E-Azam, anybody could do that.” The actress added.

When talking about Sridevi, Boney Kapoor got emotional and said his daughter has watched her mother doing what she did “best”. “Janhvi already has an idol in front of her. There is not one as complete as an actor as her.” to which Janhvi said, “I can’t emulate her, even if I wanted to.”

Famed producer, Boney Kapoor shared that he did not get time to be a director and wishes to direct in future. “But there is still an obsession to direct. One day I’ll definitely direct a film... May be in future we’ll take the whole plunge and the family – Janhvi, Arjun, may be even Khushi, Anil chachu, and Sanjay chachu is also in full form.” He added.

At the event, Janhvi also recited a self-written poem that she wrote for her mother.