Janhvi Kapoor received flak on the internet for her comment on Dr. BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. During the promotion of her last film Mr. & Mrs Mahi, the actress said she would love to watch a debate between BR Ambedkar and Mahatma Gandhi. This went viral across social media while some hailed her for putting her thoughts publicly others criticised her calling it a PR activity. Janhvi Kapoor who is now gearing up for her upcoming movie breaks silence on the issue.

In an interview with Mashable, Janhvi expressed shock saying “Is it so hard to believe that a young female actor can have an opinion?” She recalled the criticism and said, “I remember people said that the entire conversation was a ‘PR plug’. I said it very normally while having a conversation with the interviewer. But after the interview was over, I asked my PR if I had said something wrong, and they said, maybe people might pick up on the Ambedkar vs Gandhi debate point. I started panicking because I did not want people to get it wrong and hamper the movie’s release. My PR team then called the organisation that did the interview and asked them if they could chop that part, but they refused. So the irony is that my PR actually wanted to get that part removed completely, but people believed that it was planted by the PR.”

She gained knowledge about the subject while spending time with a filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan, who belongs to the Dalit community. She realized that she knew a little about caste discrimination and this sparked a curiosity to learn more. After that, she even read a book Ambedkar’s book, "Annihilation of Caste," which changed her. The actress further added, “I was like I am a part of this society. I am a Hindu. But I know so little about it. I live on the street named after Ambedkar and even then I know almost nothing about his history. I should be ashamed.”
She continued, “I was like I am a part of this society. I am a Hindu. But I know so little about it. I live on the street named after Ambedkar and even then I know almost nothing about his history. I should be ashamed.” She even watched videos on the subject and urged the youth to read up about Indian history. “As the youth of this country, it is very important to make informed decisions for the society with knowledge about the past.”