Karan Johar wanted Sridevi and Janhvi Kapoor in Shiddat which released as Kalank: Boney Kapoor

Sridevi, Janhvi Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Madhuri Dixit. Pic/Instagram, Kalank

Sridevi was not just a mother to her daughters Janhvi Kapoor and Khushi Kapoor; she was their friend, mentor, and confidante. Just a couple of months before her elder child's debut film, Dhadak, released on the big screen, the veteran actress passed away in Dubai due to accidental drowning. She was with Janhvi on the sets of the film in Rajasthan when it went on floors in 2017.

While Sridevi couldn't see Dhadak in theatres with Janhvi, she did manage to look at the rushes of the film. Boney Kapoor said in an interview with Bombay Times, "We had seen the rushes of Dhadak when Sridevi was alive. So, she had seen her daughter on screen. Khushi had auditioned, too, and after Janhvi's audition, she got a scholarship at the New York Film Academy."

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Sridevi's husband and renowned producer Boney further revealed that Karan Johar wanted to launch Janhvi with Shiddat, which eventually released as Kalank in 2019. The director had visualised the film with Sridevi and her elder daughter. The veteran actress had agreed to do it 'reluctantly', said Boney. The producer shared, "When Janhvi grew up, Karan Johar came home and expressed his desire to launch her. He wanted to make Shiddat with Janhvi which was later released as Kalank. He wanted Janhvi to play the role which was eventually played by Alia Bhatt in Kalank and he wanted Sridevi to play the role eventually played by Madhuri Dixit. Later, he decided to make Dhadak with Janhvi. Till Sridevi was alive, Kalank was called Shiddat. She had agreed to do the film reluctantly."

During a book launch event in Delhi in 2019, Karan recalled Sridevi had given her inputs after reading the script of Kalank. "I remember very clearly Yash Chopra telling me about how she heard the narration of Chandni. She had just two things to say and the two things she said were the two changes that they made in the narrative. It's not that she was just doing the film because it was a major set-up or it was around her, she had a legit input. I can say it from my own experience because when I narrated a film to her, which she meant to do before she passed away, she had read the script; made her notes; told me a few brilliant things that I wish we had all listened to. She had said some really wonderful and intuitive things. It was my big dream to work with her. But unfortunately, she passed away in February and the film was going on floors in April," he shared.

Kalank, starring Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit, Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan, Sonakshi Sinha and Aditya Roy Kapur, failed to work at the box office. It was directed by Abhishek Verman and released in April 2019.