Stars On The Rise

As they debut in the much-awaited film Dhadak, Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter establish themselves as the talent to watch out for. In a Bazaar exclusive, they talk about their wide-ranging inspirations, their approach to acting, and the traits that define Millennials.

- BUTOOL JAMAL

Janhvi Kapoor arrives first for our conversation at the Dharma Productions office in Andheri, Mumbai. Dressed in workout gear —tights, a T-shirt, and a pair of Louis Vuitton sneakers—she wears her hair up and has no makeup on. Ishaan Khatter, her co-star in her debut film Dhadak, runs late and is apologetic but argues pointedly—“Somebody was supposed to pick me up on their way here.” “You take way too long to get ready,” is her reply.

At 21, Janhvi is Bollywood blue-blood—the older daughter of producer Boney Kapoor and the late actor Sridevi. Her uncle is Anil Kapoor, and her cousins Sonam and Arjun are popular actors. The 22-year-old Ishaan is Shahid Kapoor’s halfbrother; his mother, kathak danseuse Neelima Azeem, and father Rajesh Khatter are also actors.

While Sridevi—arguably, one of India’s most loved and talented actors who passed away this February—was reluctant that her daughter join the film industry, Janhvi won her over and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles in 2016. Ishaan dropped out of college in Mumbai to work in films and assisted on Udta Punjab (2016). He also played the lead role of a drug-dealing teenager in Iranian director Majid Majidi’s Beyond the Clouds (2018).

By launching their Bollywood careers with Dhadak, which is produced by Karan Johar and directed by Shashank Khaitan, Janhvi and Ishaan have taken their place in the industry’s new guard of Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, and Siddharth Malhotra as Dharma protégés. It’s a coveted group to be part of and they feel lucky for it. (Dhadak tells the story of an inter-caste couple’s struggle to stay together and is an adaptation of the successful 2016 Marathi film Sairat.)