Janhvi Kapoor’s entry into Bollywood was marked by high expectations and personal loss. While her 2018 debut film, Dhadak, was a commercial success, she recently shared that her personal experience during that time was far from celebratory. In a conversation on Raj Shamani’s podcast, Janhvi revealed that she slipped into depression after the film’s release, feeling overwhelmed by a sense of rejection from the audience.
Janhvi’s journey in the industry began under difficult circumstances, as her mother, the legendary Sridevi, passed away just months before Dhadak hit theatres. Having always looked to her mother for approval, Janhvi explained that she sought to fill that void through the public. She said, “I got all of my validation in my life from my mom. She went away. So I was like, okay, I’m going to shift that to the audience.
However, the transition was not easy. Janhvi admitted she was looking for across-the-board acceptance, something she later realized does not exist. Instead of seeing the film’s success, she became fixated on the criticism. Despite Dhadak, which co-starred Ishaan Khatter, being a major hit that earned approximately ₹110.11 crore, Janhvi struggled to see it as a win. She recalled, “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.
She mentioned that while others praised her performance or the film’s earnings, she was only concentrating on the negative feedback. She added, “I didn’t concentrate or even acknowledge the fact that it was a very… I think it was the most commercially successful film with newcomers up until Saiyaara. It didn’t even click to me that it was a hit. I just knew that I sucked and people hated me… Because I only looked at the negative, and that became my reality.
This isn’t the first time Janhvi has spoken about her early insecurities. In a previous appearance on the B4U Hear It Here podcast, Janhvi mentioned how the discourse around her debut made her feel worthless and undeserving. She shared that during the release of Dhadak and Gunjan Saxena, she felt she was being told she was only getting opportunities because of her parents’ work.
While she felt an overwhelming respect and love for her parents, the narrative that she didn’t deserve her spot was difficult to process. She said, “The truth is that I love acting and I live for it.
Since her debut, Janhvi has built a diverse filmography with projects like Ghost Stories, Roohi, and the recent Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. Up next, she is set to make her mark in the Telugu film industry opposite Ram Charan in the film Peddi.
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