'I felt more deeply moved by my character Mahima than I have with any other character.'
The lovely Janhvi Kapoor was very excited before she cruised off for the Ambanis' pre-wedding celebrations.
"I am too nervous and excited about Mr & Mrs Mahi, it's the kind of film that I know I've been waiting for so long to watch," Jahnvi tells Subhash K Jha.
'It's a film whose moral compass is pointing due north. It's got its heart in the right place. It's a family film, it's a film that has its values in the right place especially in this day and age of instant validation and constant and instant gratification," she adds.
"It teaches you what it means to be really happy and and what success can mean for different people, for women, for men, for families, for children for parents -- especially for people who had dreams and haven't been able to follow them -- for people who've had a support system and haven't always been appreciated," she says.
"It's a film for everyone. I really think it's a film for India where the youth is right now where the people are right now. It really is just an honest work of art, and it's a film that I know I'll be proud of in years to come."
"In each character you see a new Janhvi Kapoor each time. I felt more deeply moved by my character Mahima than I have with any other character. I'm hoping that shows."
Janhvi played a newly married woman in Bawaal and now in Mr & Mrs Mahi.
"In both films I'm newly married and my character's discovering marriage, so it's not someone who like knows the drill of what a marriage is. So I think that discovery of marriage was different for both characters," she says, "but what was important for me to consider is what the backstory for these characters were, where they came from and how that impacted and influenced how they process and discover their marital situations."
Janhvi became a cricket fan as training progressed and as she started shooting for this film.
"I definitely started seeing the kind of hard work that gets put into and the kind of dedication and lifestyle commitment that's required to be the kind of athletes that these cricketers are and... just their mindset.
"I have so much respect for them. I mean I always did have respect for cricketers. But it was more from an outside perspective. Now having lived it for some amount of time I think I'm just in constant awe of what they do and how they do it."
She is all praise for co-actor Rajkummar Rao, "Raj is someone who I deeply admire. (Mr & Mrs Mahi Director) Sharan Sharma always says this he's got the talent of a legend, but the hunger of a newcomer and I couldn't agree more.
"Raj is one of those actors who doesn't only care about himself but in every project, he cares about the entire film. He cares about every actor participating, every technician. He's so passionate about every aspect of film-making. It's really motivating.
"I was emotionally vulnerable so many times during the making of this film. He really helped in creating a safe space. Really I couldn't have asked for a better Mr Mahi."
This is Janhvi and Director Sharan Sharma's second film together.
"my process changed quite a bit (since their film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl), so I think we took some time to readjust to each other's way of working when we were working on Mr and Mrs Mahi. But one thing I will say is that I trust Sharan more than anyone creatively.
"I know that man will leave no stone unturned if I ever have anxiety. On any other film ki yeh scene theek se gaya ke nahi, yeh scene land hoga ke nahi aaye, for some reason I don't feel that anxiety at all with Sharan.
"I know that he might fight with me for it, he might make me feel like shit for it, he might like to overwork everyone, but he will never settle for less than a thousand percent on everyone's part.
"I would like to have that that kind of work ethic over everything else, so I'm really grateful for him. I have so much faith and trust in his creative vision and in his creative intentions always."
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
