‘I was depressed after Dhadak’: Janhvi Kapoor on her darkest phase after Sridevi’s passing

Janhvi Kapoor recalling the grief-stricken days from Sridevi’s passing, has recently opened up about how scary the world grew to her at that time. Days were shadowed by public scrutiny and her every gesture was dissected with hate comments. Although her debut film Dhadak was a commercial hit, the regular criticisms and backlashes became louder than the praises. Slowly  depression crawled in and she was in the midst of her most vulnerable phase in life.

‘People hate me’: Janhvi Kapoor reflects on post-Dhadak phase

Janhvi in a recent podcast recalled her early days in the industry. The actress debuted alongside Ishan Khatter in the romantic thriller Dhadak in 2018. The film soon became a fan favourite and received a considerable amount of love. However, even when the love reached heights, the actress didn’t find much happiness from it, as it was released right after Sridevi’s passing. 

She said, “You know, every time anyone talks to me about my first film, Dhadak, they are like, ‘she was so good in it’ or that ‘we loved Dhadak’ and ‘you earned a lot of money’... But my memory of Dhadak was very different. I was depressed after Dhadak. I thought ho gaya and that packup hogaya (I am done). People hate me.”

At that time, her public appearance became an absolute show for the people. Her smile, her not-so-smiley face, each one was put into meaning that had no connection. She said, “In such a time, when the world is trying to divide you into pieces… people would say, ‘She is smiling too much,’ or ‘She is not sad enough”. There was basically no room left for her private grieving. 

Talking more about how Sridevi was the sheer pillar in the family she said, “In our best days, we were a very happy, strong, positive family, and the big reason for that was her”. 

Thus when the pillar fell, the whole family broke a little bit with that. Janhvi shared that Sridevi had always been her source of validation, and after her loss, she began seeking it from the audience, something she admits didn’t quite work well.

She said, “I was only concentrating on the negative. I didn't concentrate or even acknowledge the fact that it was very (successful). I think it was the most commercially successful film with newcomers up until Saiyaara. I just knew that I sucked and people hated me… Because I only looked at the negative, and that became my reality.”

However, as time passed by, grief felt a bit lighter. She went to work on several hit films like  Mr. & Mrs. Mahi, Roohi and others. She is slated to appear in the upcoming Telugu film Peddi opposite Ram Charan, this year.

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