It is not very clear why Janhvi Kapoor is being trolled for her presence in the forthcoming biopic Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. Is it because she is the legendary Sridevi’s daughter and therefore, according to the twisted wisdom of the trolls, ineligible for acting? Would it have been okay if her mother was a housewife instead of an iconic actress, father a banker instead of a producer and mentor a nonentity instead of Karan Johar? For those trying to shove Janhvi out of the limelight for being who she is, I have some good news. Janhvi is every bit convincing as Gunjan Saxena, the Kargil Girl.
As Pankaj Tripathi, her very powerful co-actor who plays her father in the film says, “She has worked very hard on her body language, her spoken language, everything. When audiences will watch her, they will forget whose daughter she is.” Filmmaker Hansal Mehta is appalled by the viciousness levelled at the two-film-old semi-newcomer. “It saddens me to see her being attacked this way. This whole nepotism debate has been turned into a mockery. A mockery of a time for introspection and understanding,” he shares.
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On another note, Mehta feels abusing an actor for belonging to a film family is unfair. “People have every right to not watch a movie, or to critique an actor’s performance. But the nasty name calling, the call to ban and boycott, the dissing of Janhvi’s performance even before they have seen the film, this is not fair.” Apurva sees the same bullying tactics being applied to Janhvi as Sushant Singh Rajput. “I was among the few from the industry that spoke up against how Sushant was bullied in the press leading to his death, and it is sad to see Jahnvi now being bullied like that. Insider and outsider are only terms at the end of the day. What they are doing with their misplaced anger is breaking a human spirit. I urge them to practice compassion,” he concludes.
