Janhvi Kapoor Reflects On Her Time At Acting School In Los Angeles: I Learnt Nothing There

Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor has swiftly made a name for herself, achieving notable success in a span of a few years, and has been under the spotlight ever since her debut with the 2018 film ‘Dhadak.’ And since, has gone on to star in various films. The daughter of the late Sridevi and Boney Kapoor, Janhvi studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Los Angeles.

However, during a conversation with The Week, she stated that she “learnt nothing there” because the approach of the studies was focused primarily on Hollywood.

Though being in California was “fun” and the school was “great,” what she really enjoyed was the experience of anonymity because no one knew that she had famous parents. “I think the thrill in it for me was… for the first time to be in an environment where I wasn’t being identified as someone’s daughter. And I think that anonymity was so refreshing and that’s what I held on to the most,” she said.

But soon upon enrolling, the ‘Bawaal’ actress realized that her school followed the principles of method acting, and she came to the realization that she did not consider herself to be a method actor. “The format of the school that I studied over there was very deep rooted in how Hollywood works, how their auditioning process is, what it’s like to meet casting agents.”

Now, looking back at the time, she feels like she could have used that time in getting to know Indian audiences better. “I just wish I did more things that would make me relate to my people and I did. Once I started shooting for ‘Dhadak,’ I made a 180 and I realized that the only thing that matters is, that I want to tell stories of my country, I want to know the people of my country, I want to be able to speak to them, I want to be able to think like them, feel like them and sitting in LA, going to Malibu on the weekend isn’t going to cut it. It just makes you so detached and jaded,” the 26-year-old stated.

On the professional front, Kapoor will soon be seen alongside Jr NTR in ‘Devara,’ opposite Varun Dhawan in ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ and along with Rajkummar Rao in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Mahi.’