Mumbai: Actress Janhvi Kapoor has opened up on the biggest lesson she has learnt while portraying the character of ‘Gunjan Saxena’. The character ‘Gunjan Saxena’ is the first female Indian Air Force (IAF) pilot in the warzone. A biopic in the same name will hit the digital platforms shortly.
Since ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl is based on the life of the IAF pilot, Janhvi spent a 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.
Janhvi noted how Saxena didn’t let society’s gender bias act as an obstacle, and never victimised herself. Instead she just worked hard, which is something that inspires the most.
Gunjan Saxena attended a media interaction with Janhvi. She spoke of the toughest things a woman in uniform faces. “Other than infrastructure barriers like no separate washrooms or changing rooms, which were slowly taken care of, the toughest thing was breaking the mental barrier people had. It was really tough 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 August 12.