Janhvi Kapoor

Janhvi Kapoor made her acting debut in 2018 with Dhadak, a remake of the Marathi film Sairat, directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Dharma Productions. Starring alongside Ishaan Khatter, she played an upper-class girl whose life takes a tragic turn after eloping with a lower-class boy. Despite mixed reviews, the film grossed ₹1.1 billion worldwide, making it a commercial success. Critics had varied opinions on her performance—some praised her screen presence, while others found it lacking. She won the Zee Cine Award for Best Female Debut.

In 2020, she appeared in Zoya Akhtar’s segment of Ghost Stories, earning praise for her performance despite the film receiving mixed reviews. That same year, she portrayed aviator Gunjan Saxena in Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl, which premiered on Netflix due to the pandemic. She underwent extensive training for the role, and while reviews on her performance were mixed, she earned a Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

In 2021, Kapoor played dual roles in the horror-comedy Roohi alongside Rajkummar Rao. Released after pandemic delays, the film and her performance were poorly received. The following year, she starred in Good Luck Jerry, a remake of Kolamaavu Kokila, which premiered on Disney+ Hotstar. She then played the lead in Mili, a survival thriller about a woman trapped in a freezer. While critics acknowledged her sincerity in the role, comparisons with the original Malayalam version found her performance less compelling. The film was a box-office failure, but she secured another Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.

In 2023, Janhvi Kapoor starred alongside Varun Dhawan in Bawaal, a romantic drama directed by Nitesh Tiwari. The film, which follows a feuding couple learning about World War II while traveling across Europe, premiered on Amazon Prime Video but faced criticism for trivializing the Holocaust. Reviews were mixed—while The New York Times found her performance lacking charisma, The Guardian appreciated her composed and mature acting.

In 2024, Kapoor had three film releases. She reunited with Rajkummar Rao for the sports drama Mr. & Mrs. Mahi, where she played a cricketer, dislocating her shoulder twice during filming. Despite her efforts, critics felt she still lacked ease in performance, and the film underperformed at the box office. She then starred in the political thriller Ulajh as an Indian Foreign Service officer accused of dissent. Kapoor was deeply involved in the film’s creative process, and while reviews were mixed, she was praised for handling emotionally intense scenes. However, like her previous films, it failed commercially.

Also in 2024, Kapoor made her Telugu debut with a brief role in Devara: Part 1, starring N. T. Rama Rao Jr. While some critics felt her role was overshadowed, the film grossed over ₹5 billion ($58 million), marking her first box-office success since Dhadak and the highest-grossing film of her career.

Kapoor’s upcoming projects include Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari with Varun Dhawan, the Telugu film RC16 opposite Ram Charan, and the romantic drama Param Sundari alongside Sidharth Malhotra.

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Janhvi Kapoor has been placed in Rediff.com’s “Best Actresses” list in 2020 and 2022. She is an endorser for several brands and products, such as Nykaa, Drools, and Aldo. Kapoor has frequently featured in The Times of India’s list of most desirable women, ranking 28th in 2018, 24th in 2019, and 18th in 2020.