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. 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 that has its values in the right place, especially in this day and age of instant validation and constant and instant gratification. I think that it teaches you is what it means to be really happy and what success can mean for different people and I think 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… I think 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 and 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,” she said.
Janhvi believes what this film is trying to say and how it's trying to see it. “I mean, the hope and aspiration with each film and in each character you see a new Janhvi Kapoor each time. I think with the kind of script, story and character that there is in Mr & Mrs Mahi and how emotionally invested I was in it and how much I guess we've all given to the film, I felt more deeply moved by my character Mahima than I have with any other character before me. I mean I'm hoping that shows and perhaps maybe that's what Karan sir was alluding to,” said the actress.
Interestingly, Janhvi played a newly married woman in Bawaal and now in Mr & Mrs Mahi. “I think 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 and so I think that discovery of marriage was different for both characters. 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,” she said.
Janhvi became a cricket fan as training progressed and as she started shooting for this film. “I think 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 said.
She is all praise for her co-star Rajkummar Rao. “Raj again is someone who I deeply admire,” said the actress. “I think my 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 and he's so passionate about every aspect of filmmaking and I think it's really motivating and also the kind of person he is. 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.”
Interestingly, this is Janhvi and her director Sharan Sharma’s second outing together after Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. She feels both have evolved. “This is his second film but it's like I think I did five films after Gunjan and then came back to this one or maybe it was four,” said Janhvi. “I think we were on the same page in terms of our process during Gunjan. I think tone of the major differences was that my process changed quite a bit and so I think we took some time to readjust to each other's way of working when we were working on Mr. & 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. I for some reason don't feel that anxiety at all with Sharan because I know that he might fight with me for it, he might make me feel like shit for it. he might like overwork everyone. But he will never settle for less than a thousand percent on everyone's part. I think I would have that kind of work ethic over everything else, so I'm really grateful for him and I'm really happy that I've I have so much faith and trust in his creative vision and in his creative intentions always.”
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