The veteran producer feels the comparison is unfair and reminds all that Sridevi had entered into Hindi space after doing nearly 200 South Indian films.

By Mayur Lookhar

Sridevi’s shocking demise left her family in despair. Boney Kapoor and his daughters – Janhvi, Khushi, have endured a difficult phase to emerge strong in life again. Janhvi has followed in her mother’s foot steps to emerge as a promising young actor.

It’s been four years since the tragedy but the late great actress often finds a mention in Janhvi’s media commitments. The trailer launch of Mili [2022] was no different when a seasoned scribe compared Janhvi’s talent to that of her late great mother. Boney Kapoor set the record straight reminding people to not compare his daughter to his late actor wife.

“Everybody has a different mechanism to understand the character, and then to become the character. That was the USP of Sridevi. Perhaps Janhvi carries the same DNA. She, too, gets into the character. She doesn’t play the part, but she becomes the part. That is why you have seen the growth in Janhvi with every film,” said Boney Kapoor.

The father also reminded the huge difference between Janhvi and her mother.

Says Boney, “Audience in North India saw Sridevi after she had done almost 200 films in the South. She had reached a particular level of understanding her characters, how each beat has to be captured. My baby [Janhvi] has only started her journey. Don’t put her into any kind of comparisons with her mother. She had her own journey. She started as a child artiste. But most of the North India saw her after she had done 200 South Indian films.”

Later, a journalist asked Janhvi if she would be comfortable playing her mother in any future biopic?

“No, I wouldn’t,” pat came the reply.  When pressed why, Janhvi replied, “That would be a very long answer, besides I’m feeling hungry and I don’t want to cry.”

Mili [2022] is set to be released in theatres on 4 November.