My sister's keeper

What is elder-sibling energy? For Janhvi Kapoor, three years older than sister and debutant actor Khushi Kapoor, it's about being protective, paving the way, staying vulnerable. She opens up about firstborn superpowers, and life with Khushi Kapoor

Older siblings will agree: Firstborns are essentially the family guinea pigs. The siblings that come after have it easier: They get to stay out later, borrow clothes, take more risks, get bailed out of bad decisions, even kiss more frogs, somehow.

The older ones? They're the ones managing the activities, sorting out the messes, holding on to the secrets, keeping the peace - not quite the parent, but rarely the baby.

Even film families aren't immune. "Older siblings just have it way harder," admits Janhvi Kapoor, 26, older sister to actor Khushi Kapoor, 23. They're both daughters of late actor Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor. "We are the experiment for our parents With us, they're overstrict, overcautious, overinvolved. It's the first time they are doing this so we, the firstborns, are in the line of fire."

Janhvi Kapoor made her acting debut in 2018 with Dhadak, a Hindi remake of the 2016 Marathi film Sairat. She's starred in the 2020 hit Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl (2020), played the ghost in Roohi (2021), even a woman trapped in a freezer in Mili (2022). Khushi Kapoor is one film old, she debuted in Zoya Akhtar's The Archies (2023). "Khushi is definitely dad's favourite," says Janhvi Kapoor, with a laugh in her voice.

Early-mover advantage

Janhvi Kapoor recalls the time she was 14, and desperately wanted bangs. Her mother was quite particular about the young girls getting their hair cut. So, Kapoor made the mistake nearly every teen has: She cut her own hair into a fringe. “I walked around looking like Salman Khan from Tere Naam," she says, laughing at the memory.