Janhvi Kapoor is currently making headlines for her appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, where she’s arrived for the premiere of her upcoming film Homebound. While we’re still focusing on her fashion, which honestly is worthy of attention, the director of the film, Neeraj Ghaywan has said that this film is about to shift the perception around Janhvi and will make people see her true potential. Ghaywan placed a lot of faith and confidence in the actor, who he said has been “heavily trolled.” 

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Neeraj said about Janhvi, “She’s been maligned publicly and heavily trolled, but when people see this film and her true potential, they’ll wake up to see she’s really made of something else. I gave her (Bhimrao Ramji) Ambedkar’s ‘Annihilation of Caste’ to read, and she went into a rabbit hole of trying to understand the glaring differences that we live with together.” 

The film is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta, and Somen Mishra and it also stars Ishan Khattar and Vishal Jethwa. 

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Producer Karan Johar, who also spoke at the same event, shared that the workshop Janhvi did with Neeraj for the film meant a lot for her, it felt like therapy. He said, “She felt she was in 10 days of therapy with Neeraj, and she felt healed as a result. Even now, she says those seven or eight days spent on the sets of Homebound will be her best days spent on a film set. She felt she wasn’t really acting but going through some sort of personal catharsis.”

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According to the official website of the Cannes Film Festival, the film's premise is: “Two childhood friends from a small North Indian village chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.”

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Neeraj had earlier revealed that he had received creative feedback from none other than legendary director Martin Scorsese for his film Homebound. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, he shared how Scorsese not only read his screenplay but also sent in thoughtful and detailed suggestions via email.

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“Well, the notes came in over e-mail, and in detail. Because he started out on the script, and he advised me to shave off a lot of the exposition. And, you know, this is the first time I’m actually writing a full screenplay. So that was a little daunting, because every filmmaker wants to say a hundred things in the same film,” Ghaywan sai.

He added, “So those things, and try to put restraint on some of the arcs that he said may impede your main narrative. Those points were really bang on because it helped me, like, pave the screenplay.” 

This film also marks Janhvi Kapoor and Ishan Khattar’s reunion after their debut film Dhadak. Vishal Jethwa has done films like Tiger 3, IB71 and Salaam Venky.