Nepotism debate reignites; This time it's Janhvi Kapoor!

Boney and Janhvi Kapoor

On Saturday, the first look of Karan Johar's production Gunjan Saxena - The Kargil Girl was unveiled, which provided a fresh impetus to the on-going nepotism debate. The Janhvi Kapoor-starrer is about the first female Indian Air Force pilot to serve in a combat zone.

With B-Town's biggies such as Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar taking to social media to praise the trailer, a section of netizens said it was a "pure nepo movie that needs to be boycotted." Kapoor's fans swung to her rescue, saying that it's "an inspiring story for girls and that needs to be taken into consideration."

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Recently, Janhvi Kapoor opened up on the biggest lesson she learnt while portraying the character of Gunjan Saxena, the first female Indian Air Force pilot in a warzone, in the upcoming biopic. Since Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is based on the life of the Air Force pilot, Janhvi spent substantial time with her.

"It all comes down to the effort and the hard work you put into your work. Her (Gunjan Saxena's) outlook is very simple. If one keeps working hard, then one will get where one has to get. I am aware of my privilege. I often felt guilty about it. But the best I can do is to earn my place by working even harder," Janhvi, daughter of the late superstar Sridevi, said.

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She noted how Saxena didn't let society's gender bias act as an obstacle, and never victimised herself. Instead just worked hard, which is something that inspires the most. In a media interaction she attended with Janhvi, Saxena spoke of the toughest things a woman in uniform faces.

"Other than infrastructure barriers like no separate washrooms or changing rooms, which were slowing taken care of, the toughest thing was breaking the mental barrier people had, making them accept you as a professional. Being accepted as an officer and not being looked at as a woman officer. I think that was the most challenging and also exciting part," Saxena said.

The film directed by Sharan Sharma also features Pankaj Tripathi and Angad Bedi, and is set for a Netflix release on August 12.

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