Janhvi Kapoor accepts that she enjoys privilege in Bollywood

Kapoor is the daughter of the late Bollywood legend Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor

Janhvi Kapoor accepts her privileged background and how she has gained from it. Speaking to journalist Barkha Dutt, the Dhadak actor admitted she has been “extremely lucky” in terms of making her Bollywood debut.

“I haven’t had to deal with the kind of things that most women have to deal with because I do come from a slightly more privileged background and so, I have been extremely lucky in the way that I have been treated and the opportunities that I have gotten,” Hindustan Times quoted her as saying.

Kapoor was joined on the interview by Gunjan Saxena, a former Air Force pilot whom the starlet plays in the upcoming biopic, Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl. “I don’t think I have anything to complain about but hearing her story, being in a simulated environment, when knowing that she’s been in probably these real situations, I don’t know if I can say maybe sympathise, but it made me come close to what it may have been like, and it, of course, broadened my horizon and perspective of what women might be going through,” she added.

Talking about the everyday sexism that she sometimes has to deal with, Kapoor said that sometimes during narrations, the film-maker pays more attention, makes eye contact with the male actors. She also said she would earlier try to justify this to herself saying that maybe the male actor had a more important role. “But then I realised that maybe it’s just some sort of subliminal conditioning that is making them do that.”

Kapoor said, in the interview, that she had a very different expectation of Gunjan before meeting her. She said the latter didn’t think of herself as a hero but claims she was doing her job. Gunjan, along with Flight Lieutenant Srividya Rajan, was the first Indian women in combat during the Kargil war. The two pilots flew the Cheetah helicopters for casualty evacuation and reconnaissance for which they often flew close to the borders. It was much before the Indian Air Force commissioned women fighter pilots.

Recently, Kapoor shared three stills from the film and wrote, “Proud to bring to you the story of India’s first woman Air Force Officer to go to war. A journey that I hope will inspire you the way that it has inspired me. Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl is landing on August 12 to your Netflix screens!”

The first still shows Kapoor standing proudly in uniform, the second still shows her giving her onscreen father Pankaj a warm hug and the third shows Angad Bedi in an army uniform.
Directed by Sharan Sharma, the film also stars Vineet Kumar, Manav Vij and Ayesha Raza in pivotal roles.

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