Janhvi Kapoor Says She Was Traumatised To Watch Sridevi's 'ChaalBaaz' As A Child

For her upcoming film Roohi, actor Janhvi Kapoor describes the character of Afza as a ‘very animalistic, inhumane energy’, who is vulnerable, fragile and docile’. In the film, Kapoor is seen exploring two ‘extremes of humanity’, like her mother, late actor Sridevi, who pulled off diverse roles in films such as ChaalBaaz. However, Kapoor said she made a conscious effort not to use them as a reference point. She said that there is no reference point for Afza’s character as she was trying to be conscious about not mimicking anyone.

Hardly any day goes by when Janhvi Kapoor doesn't talk about her mom's memory. In an interview Kapoor said, "I don’t think anyone in the world can match up to the level of work that my mother has put out. I would honestly always have a hard time watching ChaalBaaz because they were very mean to her in the film."

Janhvi Kapoor revealed that as a kid, she was traumatised every time she tried to watch ChaalBaaz. However, Kapoor has watched films like The Exorcism of Emily Rose and other horror films. “But that was just to get the tonality, what I can possibly do with my body, what it is like to be in this kind of zone and project that kind of energy,” she said.

The young actor is researching and working deeply for her upcoming project Roohi. The film titled Roohi sees Janhvi Kapoor playing a girl possessed by an “evil spirit”. This “witch” supposedly abducts brides and desires to get married. Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma star alongside Kapoor in the film. She went on to say, “For Roohi, the writers and I decided that it would be cool if Afza has a kind of stutter every time she is scared, so I saw a lot of videos and films on that.”

Kapoor further mentioned that she feels extremely fortunate to work with talented co-stars Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, and Varun Sharma who she says are more experienced than her, especially in comedy films. The 24-year-old actor also said that she is nervous and anxious, but she believes in the hard work that everyone has put into Roohi.

Rao and Sharma’s characters seem to have no clue, as to what they have got themselves into and thus are stuck with a ghost, rather than what seems like kidnapping for ransom. Roohi is said to be the first ‘major’ Hindi film to hit the big screens after a dry spell caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. Read more about it here. 

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