Janhvi Kapoor on 'Good Luck Jerry': "I had been dying to do comedy"

Also read: Good Luck Jerry review: Busy plot and too many characters spoil the fun

Did you watch the Tamil original?

I had seen Kolamaavu Kokila before I got the narration for Good Luck Jerry, but once I got the narration, I realised that the characters and their worlds are completely different. Also what Nayanthara ma’am has done is so iconic, whereas the exciting part for me is to attempt my own interpretation rather than copying because that is not exciting as an actor and also not possible because she has already done it so well.

Actors often say that comedy is one of the hardest genres. What was it like doing comedy?

I had a lot of fun. I had been dying to do comedy and with Jerry I got to try my hand at it. But more than that I got to share space with veterans like Deepak Dobriyal and that was a huge learning experience. I think that comedy is the most instinctive thing maybe, and to understand timing and what beats are important to land in what scene, which dialogue is a punch line are very technical things. Yet you need to do it as naturally as possible. So I guess it is harder but it is important to have fun with it. Honestly, emotional scenes come easier to me than comedy, but ultimately you have more fun with comedy.

How would you describe the film?

It’s about a girl who isn’t what she seems at all on the surface. It seems like the big bad world is taking her for a ride until she realises that she doesn’t mind being a big bad person and taking the people around her for a ride if it's for a greater good, because she’s done with being taken for a ride.

Basically she’s motivated to get involved in this shady business because her mother is unwell. She is financially lost and also lost in life where she feels like there is nothing else to do. And then once she’s in too deep she has to figure out how to get out of it while also safeguarding her mother’s health.

This is your fourth lead role. How do you feel when you look back at 'Dhadak' and 'Gunjan Saxena', for example?

Honestly, I think I get so invested in films that I am working on currently that I tend to forget that I have done any work before. Like the other day on the sets of Bawaal, Varun and I were talking and I kept saying but I have just started, till someone said this is my fifth or sixth film, so what do I mean by ‘just started’. Maybe I forget because the most important part of the journey is to be on set and make the film. I find that satisfying. Once it’s released, it’s not mine anymore. I don’t fixate on the ones that have been released.

Having said that, right off the bat I knew my shortcomings and strengths in Dhadak and after Gunjan Saxena, I knew the things I wanted to work on. I can be fairly objective and I know how to push myself to be better. In terms of craft, audiences would be able to judge if I have improved or not.

What else have you got coming up?

I finished shooting for Helen and there is also Mr and Mrs Mahi. Once I am back from the Bawaal shoot, I will hustle some more and hopefully get more opportunities to do good work.

What kind of roles are you seeking?

Just good stories, and being a part of films that have something to say. I feel so many of us in the industry are going through a phase where, post-pandemic, we are feeling a bit lost given how films are doing. So it’s a blessing to work with filmmakers that believe so much in the stories they are telling and are approaching them with such honesty, and not just as projects. That’s how I too like to operate.