Janhvi Kapoor Reveals if She’s Named After Urmila Matondkar’s ‘Judaai’ Character

Janhvi Kapoor says it's 'comforting and obviously very flattering' when people compare her to Sridevi.

Janhvi Kapoor says her mother Sridevi 'was obsessed' with the meaning of her name.

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Janhvi Kapoor, in a recent interview, said that Sridevi ‘was really obsessed’ with the meaning of her name. She added that it’s flattering when people compare her to Sridevi.

Janhvi Kapoor told Filmfare, “It feels good when they say that I remind them of my mom. But it’s also logical, I mean we have the same genes. But it means a lot. I think that I get so happy when I see so much of my mom in my sister and I like to think that it’s vice versa too so to me, it’s comforting and obviously very flattering.”

When asked if she was named after Urmila Matondkar’s character in Judaai, Janhvi said, “No, I was not named after Urmila’s character in Judaai. I think dad just really liked the name from before the film and mom did too."

"I think mom was really obsessed with the idea that the meaning of it was purity and she would keep looking at me and keep telling me that I look pure and pure soul and things like that. So I feel it really resonated with her in that sense.”

Janhvi Kapoor to Filmfare

The 1997 release Judaai stars Anil Kapoor, Sridevi, and Urmila Matondkar. In the film, Urmila played the role of Janhvi Sahni Verma.

The actor has several projects lined up including Good Luck Jerry and Mili which are Hindi remakes of a Tamil and Malayalam film. Talking about working in the South film industry, Janhvi said, “You know I really want to do a South film, whether it’s Tamil, Telugu or Malayalam,” adding that she’s just ‘waiting for the right opportunity’.

The actor also expressed her views on the rise of pan-Indian cinema, “I think I appreciate the idea of us striving towards making cinema that would appeal to a larger audience, to an Indian audience, and to speak of our films as a representation of Indian Cinema, I think that that’s a lovely thing.”

“There is a charm in regional cinema in the way that it appeals to a more localised audience and that it is more relatable and more colloquial in that sense. That still needs to be preserved and valued. And so, both types of films can co-exist and will co-exist,” Janhvi said.