Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor during the unveiling of the ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ magazine’s cover page and promotion of their film ‘Dhadak,’ in Mumbai, July 12. (Press Trust of India)


It seems to be the year of the newcomer in Bollywood and debutante Janhvi Kapoor says she is excited as an audience to see fresh faces, but it is unfortunate that she and another aspiring actor, Sara Ali Khan, have been pitted against each other.

Daughter of late actor Sridevi, Janhvi makes her debut with Shashank Khaitan-directed “Dhadak” tomorrow, while Sara, daughter of actor Saif Ali Khan, will foray into Bollywood with “Kedarnath” later this year.

Ishaan Khattar and Jhanvi Kapoor at a promotional event for their upcoming movie “Dhadak,” in Kolkata, July 13. (Press Trust of India)

Janhvi, 21, has high hopes for Sara and believes actors can coexist as it is not “the survival of the fittest kind of situation.”

“I’m really excited to see so many new faces, so much new talent. I’ve had the pleasure to know Sara. I think she’s stunning, she is full of so much life and energy. I’m so much excited to see what she’ll bring. So I know she’s going to kill it,” Janhvi told PTI.

Asked about 2018 being the year of newcomers, Janhvi revealed that she had often been asked about her ‘competition’ with Sara while her co-star Ishaan Khatter escaped such questions.

“Over the course of this past month, I’ve been asked about competition a lot. I find it odd because Ishaan hasn’t been asked about it. And I think that’s because I’m a girl. It’s sad that sometimes we make it about how only one of the girls can be successful because we are very capable of being happy for each other. I think it’s not a nice thing to put on the young girls in our society. I don’t think, it’s survival of the fittest, kind of situation. Coexisting is natural, and it should be encouraged amongst young girls…”

Janhvi Kapoor during a music channel launch, in New Delhi, July 18. (Press Trust of India)

Khatter made his debut with Majid Majidi’s “Beyond The Clouds” and Sunny Deol’s son, Karan, is set to enter films with home production, “Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas,” which is expected to release later this year.

“Dhadak” is the Hindi adaptation of critically-acclaimed 2016 Marathi film “Sairat.”