Janhvi Kapoor Praises Rashmika Mandanna’s ‘The Girlfriend’; Director Rahul Ravindran Reacts
Janhvi Kapoor has praised Rashmika Mandanna’s ‘The Girlfriend’, calling it a “mandatory watch”.
Rahul Ravindran’s latest directorial venture, ‘The Girlfriend,’ has found a new admirer in Bollywood actress Janhvi Kapoor following its recent OTT release. The film, which features Rashmika Mandanna, Dheekshith Shetty, and Anu Emmanuel in lead roles, initially hit theatres on November 7 and premiered on Netflix on December 5. Since its digital release, the movie has been garnering fresh appreciation, with Janhvi Kapoor being the latest to sing its praises.
Janhvi Kapoor took to her Instagram Stories to hail the film. She shared a still from a pivotal scene in the movie featuring Rashmika Mandanna. In the image, Rashmika’s character is seen covered in paint, standing before a microphone while shielding her eyes from a harsh spotlight. Adding sad eyes and clapping emojis to the story, Janhvi captioned it, “#TheGirlfriend. Mandatory watch.”
The praise did not go unnoticed by the film's director, Rahul Ravindran. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to express his gratitude, resharing the news of Janhvi’s appreciation and writing, “Really kind of her (heart emoji).”
Written and directed by Rahul Ravindran, ‘The Girlfriend’ marks his third directorial project following ‘Chi La Sow’ (2018) and ‘Manmadhudu 2’ (2019). The film stars Rashmika as Bhooma, Dheekshith Shetty as Vicky, and Anu Emmanuel as Durga. The plot revolves around the tumultuous love story between Bhooma and Vicky, exploring themes of toxicity as Bhooma gradually realizes she is trapped in an unhealthy relationship. Rahul also makes an on-screen appearance in a supporting role as a professor.
Despite receiving mixed reviews upon its theatrical release, the film managed to collect Rs 29.08 crore at the worldwide box office and is now finding a second wind on streaming platforms.
Meanwhile, Janhvi Kapoor has had a busy year. After making her Telugu debut in 2024 with Jr NTR’s ‘Devara: Part 1’, she starred in Hindi releases like ‘Homebound’, ‘Param Sundari’, and ‘Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari’ this year. She is currently busy shooting for Buchi Babu Sana’s upcoming Telugu film ‘Peddi’, where she stars alongside Ram Charan.
Rashmika Mandanna has also had a packed schedule. Apart from ‘The Girlfriend’ and the multilingual film ‘Kuberaa’, she starred in Hindi films ‘Chhaava’, ‘Sikandar’, and ‘Thamma’ this year. She is currently filming for the Hindi movie ‘Cocktail 2’ and the Telugu project ‘Mysaa’. In ‘Cocktail 2’, she will share screen space with Shahid Kapoor and Kriti Sanon.
Director and actor Rahul Ravindran was last seen in acting roles in the Hindi film ‘Jigra’ and the Telugu film ‘They Call Him OG’.
