Janhvi Kapoor has spoken about the moment her late mother Sridevi came round to the idea of her acting, and the Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi story has drawn wide attention since it appeared on 8 November. Janhvi said Sridevi was unsure about her entering films at first, and that her mother changed her mind only after Janhvi had a nose job. She told the story in a conversation with her maternal cousin, actor Maheswari, on Galatta Plus Tamil.
Janhvi recalled the day she first told Sridevi she wanted to act. Sridevi gave her blessing, but with a warning that the profession would ask for everything she had. “Okay, but then you have to give your life to it!” Janhvi remembered her mother saying. Maheswari recalled Sridevi’s own words on the subject: “Jaanu wants to be in films, but I’m not very keen because it’s a lot of hard work, a lot of dedication, and you have to be really strong to get in there.”
The part of the story that has travelled furthest is the joke Janhvi made about what changed her mother’s mind. “I think maybe you should cut this out, but I think before I did my nose, she was unsure. She was like, ‘I don’t think it’s…’ After I did my nose, she’s like, ‘Yeah, there’s potential.'” Janhvi said it laughing, and the remark has been quoted in reports of the conversation since.
Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi advice before the debut
The Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi conversation also touched on what Sridevi wanted for her daughter before films. In 2024, Janhvi had said Sridevi did not want her to enter films, and had suggested a more comfortable profession, even saying she should become a doctor. The new account adds a lighter detail to that history, and it shows Sridevi weighing the work involved rather than the fame that came with it.
The Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi debut came at a hard time for the family. Janhvi made her Bollywood debut with Shashank Khaitan’s romantic drama Dhadak, which released in 2018. Sridevi died in February 2018, at the age of 54, a few months before the film reached theatres. Janhvi has said before that she asked Sridevi not to visit the sets of Dhadak, and in a 2023 interview she called that decision one of her biggest regrets.
Sridevi’s own career began as a child actor, and she went on to become one of Hindi cinema’s most watched stars. She was 13 when she played a heroine opposite actors old enough to be her father, and 21 when she played opposite their sons, a fact Janhvi has spoken about before. The contrast between that career and the caution Sridevi showed her daughter is part of why the story has struck a chord.
Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi story and the work since
The Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi story has circulated as Janhvi lines up her next films. She was last seen opposite Ram Charan in Peddi, a role that led to debate about how her character was presented on screen. She has several projects lined up, including an action film with Tiger Shroff and Lakshya, tentatively titled Lag Jaa Gale, directed by Raj Mehta, and an untitled thriller with Sreeleela. She is also said to be exploring Tamil cinema with Dhruv Vikram.
The conversation with Maheswari was a family exchange as much as an interview. Maheswari, Janhvi’s maternal cousin, remembered Sridevi talking about Janhvi’s wish to act, and the two recalled the exchange together. The clip of the conversation has been shared widely on social media, and the nose job remark is the line most people have quoted from it.
Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi nod in her own words
The Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi exchange is the clearest account yet of how that blessing came. Janhvi’s account keeps the tone light, but the point underneath it is plain. Sridevi wanted her daughter to know what acting would cost, and she said so before she gave her blessing. The nose job line is a joke about a serious conversation, and Janhvi told it as one, laughing as she asked for the remark to be cut.
The Janhvi Kapoor Sridevi story was reported by The Indian Express on 8 November, and it was picked up by other outlets through the day. Janhvi, 29, continues to work across languages, and the story of her mother’s blessing is now part of the record of how she started.