Janhvi Kapoor: Don’t know if industry has opened up to the actor in me

Actor Janhvi Kapoor, who is all set for her upcoming theatrical release ‘Ulajh,’ has been extensively promoting her film as she believes this is one of her finest performances to date.

Janhvi’s last release, Mr and Mrs Mahi, didn’t clock in huge numbers but Kapoor’s performance and hard work didn’t go unnoticed. During the promotions of her film, Janhvi shared her take on whether the industry has opened up to the actor in her, looking beyond her vanity.

Speaking to IndiaToday.in, Janhvi said, “I don’t know whether the industry has actually opened up to the actor in me yet. Even if they have, it’s something that I’m probably not specifically thinking about as such, because acting is what I wanted to all my life. I feel I have evolved from my first film to now, but how the industry takes me is something I can’t tell for myself.”

“It would have been predictable and a much easier journey if I had done commercial movies with a wider reach that has the song, dance and glamour, because that would have come easily to me and has a higher guaranteed success rate and ensures more popularity. But I made a conscious decision a couple of years ago to challenge myself and surprise myself and try something different even though the risks and stakes are much higher,” the actor added.

Janhvi opened up about picking the ‘smaller films’ and stated, “So, yes, I do feel that I have picked a couple of high-risk films and ‘Ulajh’ is one of them. I sometimes make jokes about Insta Janhvi vs actor Janhvi. Honestly, I’m a little unaware of how the industry sees me, but all I can attest for myself is that with every film, I get more confident on another set because I feel that I can deliver what my director wants out of me.”

Janhvi concluded by saying, “I am scared to try to become aware of what the outside narrative or perception is about me. I think that kind of awareness kills an artist, because it will start making me calculate things that I’m not meant to calculate in any case. It will either make me supremely confident or completely shatter my ego and both of these things will be very disruptive for me.”

Ulajh releases in cinemas on August 2.