MUMBAI : The statement coming from the daughter of the legendary Sridevi echoed her struggle with the ‘nepo-baby’ image and the need to establish oneself as an artist. She further attempted to outweigh her box office failures with the diversity of roles in her seven-year-old career. With high-risk films, she claimed to have a more gratifying journey as an actor, but has it been rewarding too? She claimed to have chosen a tougher route, but does camouflaging one’s shortcomings with good scripts and excellent supporting cast, a step towards growth as an artist?
Like every nepokid, Janhvi was also launched with all the pomp and show in 2018. She led Dhadak, the remake of the 2016 Marathi language film Sairat, directed by Shashank Khaitan and backed by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. Her pretty face, distinct voice and audience’s love for her late mother helped create opportunities for her in the industry despite below-par performance. She had herself voiced displeasure stating she was stiff in places and her language was an issue in the movie. The film emerged as a commercial success but couldn’t break records as the original movie did. Given her privileged status, she was bestowed with a bunch of promising films with strong cast members, very early in her career. The Indian Air Force biopic Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl co-starring Pankaj Tripathi, Zoya Akhtar’s segment in Ghost Stories, horror-comedy Roohi alongside Rajkummar Rao, Nitesh Tiwari’s Bawaal and Sharan Sharma’s Mr & Mrs Mahi to name a few. Though the movies had received a fair share of criticisms, her performance has often been recognised as a work in progress.
In such a short span, Janhvi got an opportunity to be part of some amazing scripts and play varied characters. In the biopic Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, she essayed a girl who dared to break free from her cage and fly away. She is decent throughout the film, however, it’s Tripathi in the role of the father that keeps her and the film from faltering. She took on the dual roles of Roohi Arora and Afza, a girl possessed by a ghost in Roohi but her flat performance failed to make an impact as did the movie. Janhvi tried to add artsy kinds of movies like Good Luck Jerry, and Ghost Stories to her repertoire. The survival thriller Mili became another drop in the bucket despite her physically exhausting act. She delved into an apologetic and people-pleasing demeanor for Bawaal and Mr & Mrs Mahi, as both the movies have inspiring tales of married couples. She has worked hard to carve out filmography rich in great scripts and powerful characters.
Reflecting on Janhvi’s box office performance, the actress has so far not yielded any hits or blockbusters. Although Dhadak was a commercial success, it turned out to be a semi-hit earning a lifetime collection of Rs 74.19 crore. Roohi fared below average, collecting approximately Rs 31.45 crore, while Mili tanked at the box office with a Rs 3.49 crore collection. Mr & Mrs Mahi, which was released in May this year, opened decently at the box office, however, it dipped gradually earning an average collection of Rs 35.81 crore. Besides these, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, Bawaal, Ghost Stories and Good Luck Jerry were released on OTT platforms.
It is not wrong to say that great opportunities landed in the lap of Janhvi but she hasn’t yet justified them with her potential. Irrespective of her line of work, it’s still hard to bet on her acting chops. More capable actors could have delivered their career-best performances through her movies. The same can be said about her meaty role in the upcoming spy thriller Ulajh, as a young IFS officer, a departure from her previous soft roles. Going by its trailer, the actress looks repetitive with no voice modulation in yet another promising script alongside prominent actors including Gulshan Devaiah, Rajesh Tailang, Adil Hussain and Roshan Mathew; seems like cooking a set formula to let people skip an average act in front of those great actors and expect ‘growth as an artist’ for choosing such a script.
Moving forward, Janhvi has set her eyes on South cinema to enhance her filmography. She is making her South debut with the Telugu-language film Devara, marking her first-ever collaboration with Jr. NTR. Written and directed by Koratala Siva, the film will see her in the never-seen-before role of a village belle Thangam. She is also geared up to join Ram Charan’s 16th film, referred to as #RC16. Directed by Buchi Babu Sana, the film has her as the female lead. Apart from these, she also has Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, a romantic comedy co-starring Varun Dhawan in the pipeline.
Much like nepokid Alia Bhatt, Janhvi too has had enough chances to master her acting skills. Her warm-up phase seems to be stretched unlike Alia’s who secured her place as one of the best actresses in the industry much earlier since her debut. With movies like Highway and Udta Punjab, she had put across a strong statement defying nepotism in the industry. However, it doesn’t seem to be the case with Janhvi, she hasn’t turned over a new leaf no matter how many movies she does. Her films have not blurred the lines, and so far have only highlighted her privileges and easy reach in the industry. With the amount of opportunities and collaborations with renowned filmmakers, it’s high time the actress should stop acting hard and instead work hard on acting.
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Credits - Koimoi
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