Ulajh: Janhvi Kapoor broke stereotypes as Suhana while her fellow queens behind the lens spearheaded the project
Janhvi Kapoor broke stereotypes onscreen as Suhana in Ulajh while these superwomen spearheaded the project from behind the lens
For the longest time, women in films were shown in a submissive light, as either a devoted wife or a doting mother. Or an item girl! But over the years, the portrayal of female characters has evolved by a huge margin. So now when the audience witnesses a strong female lead, played convincingly by a versatile actor, it makes our chest swell up with pride. This is what happened when movie-buffs watched Janhvi Kapoor as a young IFS officer named Suhana in her recently released film Ulajh. She broke stereotypes onscreen by challenging the societal norm which suggests age is a barrier when it comes to achieving high-ranking positions. But Janhvi was not the only superwoman on set.
Produced by Junglee Pictures, this thriller has championed in empowering women both onscreen and behind the lens with many female professionals spearheading the project. While Janhvi was cast in the lead role, Atika Chohan wrote the impactful dialogues. Talking about the same to HT City, Atika shared, “Proud to my bones to have been able to create a nuanced gender lens for an engaging, progressive, mainstream film like Ulajh. The kind of freedom I got while establishing the voice and the world view for the female lead, from both my producers and director, is rare in my career.”
That’s not all! Cinematographer Shreya Dev Dube was the first female DOP that Janhvi has ever worked with. Sharing her experience, Shreya stated, “It was good being a part of a film that wasn’t playing it safe, it intends to show a female character in all her entirety.” Meanwhile, Mansi Dhruv Mehta was appointed as the Head of Production Design.
The perspective brought by these female professionals definitely depicted Suhana’s character in a much more powerful way. Their hard work on set reflected onscreen when Janhvi’s character inspiringly made her way through a male-dominated diplomatic arena in high-stakes environments. Well, this once again proves who runs the world. It’s girls!