'Dhadak' has a special place in our hearts, say Ishaan and Janhvi

For star kids Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter the making of Dhadak has been an emotional journey. We caught up with the next generation stars to find out why this film is special
When Janhvi Kapoor saw the Marathi blockbuster Sairat for the first time in her mother's  - late actor Sridevi - bedroom along with her, she was instantly smitten by the tragic love story of Archi and Parshya which also deals with caste, class and socio-economic disparity. She discussed with her mother how she would love to be part of a film with a story like this.       
"The feeling was overwhelming when I sat with my mother in her bedroom and saw Sairat for the first time. I remember being invested and involved in the story, their characters and their love. It was a feeling that I cannot put into words. I was dumbfounded for the longest time. At that point, I had decided that I wanted to act but I didn't know anything about Dhadak. I was in awe of what Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar (lead stars of Sairat) had done for their characters. I had no idea that I would get an opportunity to debut in a movie like this but I did tell my mother that I would love to go on a journey like the story of this film," said Janhvi while talking to City Times over the phone from Mumbai.
She began to cry when she learnt that she was being considered to play the lead role in the Hindi adaptation. "Karan had actually spoken to my mom and dad and said that he will meet Janhvi formally for the film. I started to cry because I was so happy and overwhelmed that I was getting this opportunity."
Janhvi Kapoor and Shahid Kapoor's brother Ishaan Khatter play lead roles in Dhadak which releases in the UAE this Friday. This film is the adaptation of Marathi blockbuster Sairat which explores how the hopelessly in love protagonists deal with the fight over inter-caste romance and honour killings. Sairat is Marathi cinema's highest-grossing film and has been remade in many other languages.
Dhadak was going to be Ishaan's debut film but as destiny would have it, his first release turned out to be Majid Majidi's Beyond The Clouds. "I think working with Majid Majidi was like going to the university of acting for me. He is just a masterclass and an institution in himself. But right now, I have the nervous energy and also I am very grateful to be able to be part of both of these films. I am savouring the feeling of anticipation and curiosity. Dhadak was going to be my first film and Beyond the Clouds just happened. I think it was just an act of destiny. Dhadak has a special place in my heart and it was far more premeditated. I saw Sairat right after I was told that Shashank Khaitan wants to adapt that into a Hindi film and it was a very rewarding and overwhelming watch. I immediately fell in sync with the characters. I remember it took me a while to shake myself off the feeling that the movie left me with since it ends on such a sad and shocking note. It took time to sink in that I was going to be part of the adaptation. The entire week was overwhelming for me."
Both the star kids were overjoyed to be part of this iconic love story. After bagging the film, Janhvi created her own backstory for her character as she loves writing. Even though her director Shashank Khaitan did explain the character's backstory - where she comes from and why she makes the choices that she makes, Janhvi still wanted to know her character further hence she wrote an elaborate backstory of her character - every thought behind every action of hers. "She became more real to me that way," explained Janhvi.
Where Sairat meets Dhadak
Janhvi calls the making of this film a therapy, a holiday and a spiritual experience whereas promotional aspects feel like work to her. She is yet to meet the original star cast of the film but she has already met Sairat's director Nagraj Manjule. "I would love to meet Rinku because what she gave to Archi is so iconic and she builds the character with so much of honesty."
It comes as a pleasant surprise that Boney Kapoor and Sridevi's elder daughter enjoys writing prose and poetry. "I love writing poetry. I remember watching a lot of films with various interesting characters and I began to write with my outlook of the world and I started writing down my thoughts and observations on people. The most recent poem that I have written is after our first shooting schedule in Jaipur. Frida Kahlo and Charles Bukowski are some of my favourite writers."
She also wants to create her own path by doing quality work and touching people's lives with her career. "I just want to do good work and I don't think I would want to emulate anyone's career. I love Madhubala, Meena Kumari and my mother herself. I think Alia Bhatt is such a gifted actor. All these actresses have so much honesty with their love of cinema that it reflects in their work. I want to be an actress because I will have an opportunity to live so many different lives through my own, so any character that allows me to have fun or touch people's lives, I would like to explore that."
Sairat was based in the interiors of Maharashtra whereas Dhadak is based in Udaipur, hence the director Shashank Khaitan took both Ishaan and Janhvi to Rajasthan to make them understand the vibe of Rajasthan by spending time with the local people, eating local food. He wanted them to understand the background, language and upbringing of these two characters.
"I and Ishaan both cherish our memories of the time that we spent in Rajasthan while preparing for the film. Those days came with the liberty that we could just spend our time as our characters Madhu and Parthavi and we made Jaipur our home. When we went to actually shoot for the movie, we couldn't do that anymore. Then Calcutta also became our home eventually. I am so grateful for the love and attention that people have chosen to give me."
The two star kids come across as really good friends. Even during our telephonic conversation with Janhvi, Ishaan kept interrupting to make her laugh. She calls him a gifted actor. "Ishaan is such a gifted actor and I really learnt a lot from him. There is so much passion and hunger in him and he only inspired me to get better with each scene."   
Whereas for Ishaan, Janhvi is a delightful goofball. "She is delightful to be around as she brings the best energy on the set. She is quite a goofball. She has a very genuine innocence to her and is very amusing - whether or not she intends to be."
Janhvi is a 'needy' sister
"I am a very needy sibling to have, so I am constantly needing affection from my family. I don't know but I think everytime I am photographed, I feel shy and my basic instinct is to hold someone's hand and hence I am always pictured holding my younger sister Khushi's hand. Khushi is my best friend and I look to her advice all the time." 
How many films of sridevi has janhvi seen?
"I have only seen five of her films and out of the five - Sadma, Mr India and English Vinglish are my favourites. I remember watching Chaalbaaz once and some of the characters were making my mother cry and were very mean to her and I couldn't bring myself to watch the entire film. Even English Vinglish, I was digging my nails in the sofa seat when the other characters were bad to her. That's why I liked Sadma (pictured above) so much - because she made Kamal Haasan cry - for once she didn't cry herself. I remember watching a lot of Anil Chachu's movies because he looks so similar to dad." 
Criticism of airbrushing small-town India
Sairat touched the core of pan-India audiences because it stayed true to its story and characters portraying the rustic feel of the interiors of Maharashtra, whereas many are criticising Dhadak for airbrushing small-town India. Ishaan said the film required them to strike a balance between being authentic and having a dream-like quality. "The film has a dream-like quality and to be able to portray that and yet have an authenticity to it by making the characters as honest as possibly was bit of a challenge. This was more of a departure for me as a person than my character from Beyond The Clouds. This one is quite unambitious but is an ardent hopeless lover."
Acting and dancing comes naturally to Ishaan
Ishaan: As far as I can recall, I think dancing and acting have always been my primary passions. I did do a little bit of formal training in Western dancing for a year but dancing is something that I have been doing all my life. I did want to train formally as an actor. Had I the opportunity to train in acting, perhaps I would have found myself a place to explore acting training but I sort of learnt on the job. I did do a theatre course here and there. Also, I assisted in Udta Punjab and an unreleased indie film as an assistant director.
arti@khaleejtimes.com