Janki Bodiwala chooses favourite between Shaitaan, Vash; reveals her parents' reaction to film: 'Mom was...'| Exclusive

Vikas Bahl’s recent horror thriller Shaitaan has wooed everyone. Apart from Ajay Devgn and R Madhavan, Janki Bodiwala stole the show and impressed everyone with her chilling Bollywood debut. Shaitaan is a remake of the Gujarati film Vash which also starred Janki Bodiwala. In an exclusive conversation with DNA, Janki Bodiwala talked about how her parents reacted to the film and also chose her favourite between Vash and Shaitaan. 

Talking about the box office success of Shaitaan and how much it matters to her, Janki Bodiwala said, “I guess I don’t know about numbers because I don’t know how much Vash collected at the box office. It’s just that people are going and watching the film and it’s spreading because of word of mouth that is what actually matters to me. People are talking about it, whether bad, good, or mixed, the film is being talked about that is where I feel the film has done well. So more than box office I have expectations for word of mouth.”

Janki further talked about the response to her performance in Shaitaan and said, “It’s been amazing. People are so generous. I am overwhelmed by the response of the audience. Like people loved it, and they are appreciating it, so I am a little bit overwhelmed right now.”

Janki revealed that while her father loved Vash, her mother was traumatized and said, “I generally don’t discuss stories at home because I want them to watch as audience only. So when I did Vash, I just gave them a light warning that it’s nothing, be calm and it’s just a film, just be prepared for it. I know my father is a movie buff. If I developed an interest in doing films, he is the reason, because in my childhood, I have seen so many films with him and even now he is so crazy about films that he has made a theatre of his own.”

She added, “So he loves watching movies. He actually loved Vash. He watched my film at the screening only. For this film, he took society, his friends, and relatives to watch the film because he was happy with the content of the film. My mom was traumatized. She couldn’t watch the film and she just walked out in the interval that I can’t see this.”

Talking about the brutal ending of Vash and the happy ending of Shaitaan, Janki said, “The ending that Vash gave was very different, Every film can’t make you happy in the end. You must feel something different. You should take something with you and not just take a smile at the end of the movie. The ending in Vash leaves you with a feeling that you don’t feel in each and every film. So it’s special for me.” 

When asked if seeing R Madhavan performing live gave her chills, the actress said, “Yes he of course gave me chills. When I used to stand at the side watching him perform his monologue, the way he used to perform, it was just one or two takes for him only. Not more than one actually. So seeing that was like a learning experience for me. And it was his character, I had to take that vibes from him only so that I also feel that scary, but it was only between the takes. Before the action and after the cut he was a very chill guy always in a particular space and watching videos. He was a super chill person, nothing like Vanraj I’ll say.”

Janki revealed that Ajay Devgn made her feel comfortable on set and talking about slapping scenes in the film, the actress said, “In real we don’t hit anyone, but I was pretty nervous because even if I hit him by mistake, then what. But he is so sporty, like for real. I had to push him, I had to show that physical aggression and he had to bear it all. So he was like, hit me, it’s fine, it’s a part of your character. So when you get this kind of comfort then you get comfortable in your character also. So yeah, he actually made me comfortable.” 

In a rapid-fire round, when asked to choose between Vash and Shaitaan, Janki Bodiwala chose the former and said, “First ones are always special.” The actress also revealed that Jyotika is her favourite co-star in the movie because she shared a giggle with her. 

Helmed by Vikas Bahl, Shaitaan also stars Ajay Devgn, R Madhavan, and Jyothika. The horror thriller has won several hearts of the audience and is very close to touching the Rs 200-crore mark at the box office.