EXCLUSIVE: Janhvi Kapoor reacts to Auschwitz controversy in Bawaal; says 'Intention has always been pure'

Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan’s latest film Bawaal has been enjoying immense appreciation from the audience. People have loved the emotional and vulnerable aspects of the story and also the acting performances of the two leads. But the usage of historical references to the Holocaust has also received its fair share of criticism and has been termed as ‘tone-deaf’ by some viewers. In an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla, Janhvi Kapoor along with co-star Varun Dhawan and director Nitesh Tiwari, addressed the controversy surrounding the film. Janhvi even shared accounts of individuals who have seen the film and were not at all offended. 

Janhvi Kapoor shares accounts of people who were moved by Bawaal

In the exclusive interview with Pinkvilla, Janhvi Kapoor talked about her belief that the worst thing that could happen to a film would be that it vanishes without affecting anybody or making some sort of impression. She said, “It’s important to understand the intention, always. And if you misunderstand the intention, that’s what I would call tone-deaf.”

Janhvi narrated an account of a person who was affected by her film Bawaal and gained strength from her character Nisha. She also called it the best compliment that she had received for the film. Janhvi stated, “It was at one of the screenings that we had for students of IIT. And there was one girl in the audience who said that she had had an epileptic episode recently, she was talking to us about it, she started crying, and I distinctly remember her saying that she felt stronger after watching Nisha’s journey, and how her parents have supported her, and how she was very moved by the film and the character and what everyone was trying to say. To see your work affect someone, and help them in what could be a dark moment in their life, it’s beyond anything.”

Janhvi Kapoor addresses controversy around Bawaal

Addressing the controversial scenes set at the Auschwitz concentration camp, Janhvi shared the opinion of her acquaintance who was not at all offended by the film. Janhvi said, “I know someone, he’s a professor at an Ivy League university, and he’s an Israeli. He had ancestors that unfortunately did not survive the Holocaust. He saw the film, and was very moved by it. He understood everything that we set out to do with the film, and never once in the conversation did he even allude to being offended by anything. So, I think it depends on people’s views. But the intention has always been pure, and always to acknowledge the turmoil, the devastation and the monstrosity of what happened then.”

Romantic drama Bawaal is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.