Shashank Khaitan: Janhvi Kapoor is no longer a fearful actor

Janhvi Kapoor has often found herself at the centre of the nepotism debate in Bollywood. Ever since her debut, Dhadak (2018), the daughter of legendary actress Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor has been trolled about coming from a place of privilege. Director Shashank Khaitan who helmed her debut film Dhadak, and also directed the recent release Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari, shared his observations on Jahnvi’s evolution both as an actor and as a person.

In a chat with us, Shashank said, “Janhvi started out scared to express herself. There was so much pressure, so much talk about nepotism — sometimes fair criticism, sometimes unfair criticism — that it kind of just put her in a shell where she was struggling to express herself as an artiste as well as a person. What I loved about her by the time we started Sunny Sanskari... is that she wasn’t fearful anymore. Now I see such a confident side to her, and I think it’s helped her acting and performances.”





Shashank, known for films like Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania added, “I had told her during Dhadak that she has a comical side to her. I never saw it coming out but with this film I just saw it come out in full potential. Now I see a girl who is not scared to express her opinions, and she has now taken praise and criticism in her stride. She’s in a much more secure and stable place.”