it’s time to do away with the ‘nepo kid’ jibes now
Janhvi Kapoor’s Good Luck Jerry was released on Disney Hotstar on Friday. In her short career, this is Janhvi’s third direct- OTT release( after Ghost Stories and Gunjan Saxena The Kargil Girl in 2020). Apropos, two of these contain her finest performances and evidence that the youthful actor has a huge implicit to grow. Ever since she entered the assiduity with Dhadak back in 2018, Janhvi has faced allegations of nepotism and favoritism helping her in her trip. After all, she’s the son of screen legend Sridevi and filmmaker Boney Kapoor and a known fave of Karan Johar. But with Good Luck Jerry, Janhvi proves that she can stay on the base of her gift alone, opposing all ‘ nepo sprat ’ jibes that come her way on social media.
There are two allegations or charges that pixies frequently love to fling at Janhvi– that she can’t act and that she’s in the assiduity because of her connections. The internet and Kangana Ranaut’s new favorite depreciative term ‘ nepo sprat ’ has frequently been used for her. flicks like Roohi haven’t helped. But in a career that has only seen six releases, that charge hardly holds merit. In Good Luck Jerry, she plays a Bihari emigrant in Punjab, both worlds relatively alien to her. And yet she manages to do justice to them. Her Bihari shoptalk is good if not perfect. Of course, Mita Vashisht( who plays her mama ) does it better, but doing anything indeed hardly worse than an actor of her class is a commodity to be celebrated.
The trouble with Janhvi has been two-fold. First is, of course, that suckers, and indeed critics, love to compare her with her mama Sridevi. Bending any actor against a gift like Sridevi is illegal. She was a formerly-by-a-generation actor. There has noway been one like her and presumably, no way will be. But Janhvi doesn’t have to be her. She just has to be the stylish interpretation of herself there and that should be enough.
The alternate trouble has been herco-performers. In her brief career, Sridevi has set up herself participating in the frame with some of the finest actors in the country. In Dhadak, it was Ashutosh Rana, and in Ghost Stories Surekha Sikri and Vijay Varma. In Gunjan Saxena, herco-actors included Pankaj Tripathi, Manav Vij, and Vineet Kumar Singh to name many, while in Good Luck Jerry, she shares screen space with Mita Vashisht and Deepak Dobriyal. These are redoubtable players and the followership always compares her to their performances. And indeed, she comes up short but with utmost would. And if Gunjan Saxena and Good Luck Jerry have shown commodity, it’s that the gap is dwindling. She no longer feels out of place in a scene with an astral actor. She’s holding her own and delivering measured performances that any youthful actor should be proud of
What the minister frequently seems to get wrong about star kiddies in Bollywood is that there’s no Mafia icing only they stay in the assiduity. Star kiddies have a commodity the proverbial outsides don’t– visibility. Indeed before they subscribe to their first flicks, they’ve spent time in the public eye. With their millions of social media followers and devoted suckers, star kiddies can get eyeballs to a design, commodity other beginners can only dream of. That’s why directors like to see them as safe bets. But that visibility can only get your bottom inside the door. Yes, for numerous that’s a huge deal. But also so numerous star kiddies fade down after grand debuts because they just don’t have the gift of the will. Janhvi has both, in cornucopia
Good Luck Jerry sees Janhvi perform the enviable task of carrying a film on her shoulders and she manages that beautifully. Now, could she have gotten that chance if she wasn’t Janhvi Kapoor? presumably not! Not numerous youthful actors would be entrusted with leading flicks so beforehand in their careers. There, her star sprat status helps clearly. But like I said, it only gets her through the door. Beyond that, she has to make sure through her gift that she continues to get these chances in the future too. The moment directors feel there’s another actor easier on the fund, who fits the bill, they will flock to her. Capitalism trumps nepotism, always! But till also, let us let Janhvi lounge in her success, and perhaps enjoy watching her on-screen ourselves. Good luck, Janhvi!
