One of the things I like about this generation of women actors is that they do not necessarily conform to the coy code. Janhvi Kapoor is one of them. She knows she doesn't have to struggle to put food on the table. She knows she has the love of millions because of who her mother was. But she doesn't take it for granted and is willing to work hard to achieve what she wants. Since she made her cinematic debut with Dhadak in 2018, she has done some good work, in a segment of Netflix's Ghost Stories, shot beautifully by Zoya Akhtar, in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl in 2020, and in Roohi last year. Now she is all set for the release of Good Luck Jerry, a remake of Nayanthara's Kolamaavu Kokila. Changing the setting to Punjab and making Kapoor a Bihari migrant has given the dark comedy a different flavour. Much like Jerry, Kapoor found her own voice through the making of the movie. She liked that Jerry was unapologetic and wanted to take control of her life. Unlike Jerry, though, in real life she doesn't have to do unethical things. Going forward she says this will be the leitmotif of her next few performances, in Mili, a remake of the Malayalam film Helen by Mathukutty Xavier; Bawaal, directed by Nitesh Tiwari; and Mr & Mrs Mahi with Rajkummar Rao where she plays a cricketer. "This struggle to find your own agency is one that most girls of my generation are going through," she says. At 25, she is still in the process of growing into herself, but she knows she doesn't want to fit into any boxes professionally or personally. She has a long wishlist of directors she wants to work with. "I'm no Meryl Streep so I need to go after what I want," she says. She has auditioned for Neeraj Ghaywan, Shashank Khaitan, Luv Ranjan and even Karan Johar. She has been trying to get a meeting with Imtiaz Ali, Rohit Shetty and Sanjay Leela Bhansali. "I literally stalked Nitesh," she says of the Dangal director. "I sent him a lot of eager messages and started prepping for the film even before I was confirmed. I have no ego. Why should I? I have so much to learn." She is delighted to learn from co-stars such as Pankaj Tripathi in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Mita Vashisht as well as Deepak Dobriyal in Good Luck Jerry and Varun Dhawan in Bawaal. "They have different approaches to their craft but their passion for films is all-consuming," she says. It's a real perk of the job. As for the void left by her mother, actor Sridevi, it will always be there, she says. "If there was anyone who knew her, it was I," she adds.

Karisma Kapoor

Something About Janhvi

Either/Or

Another Kid on the Kapoor Block