While filming English Vinglish, a tearful Sridevi called Janhvi and Khushi and announced her intention to retire from acting, saying, ‘I want to be there for my children.’

Janhvi Kapoor said in an interview that she has had to fight thoughts of quitting her acting career to support her sister Khushi Kapoor, who is all set to make her acting debut with Zoya Akhtar’s The Archies, alongside with Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan and Amitabh Bachchan’s grandson Agastya Nanda.

Janhvi opened up about how she’s feeling very “maternal” towards Khushi these days, and that her behaviour is actually mirroring that of their mother, late actor Sridevi. “Nowadays I’m feeling very maternal towards her (Khushi), as the days go by I find myself thinking things and saying things to her that my mom (Sridevi) used to say to me,” Janhvi told Mashable in an interview.

She added that she feels she’s not doing enough for her sister, which is making her question herself and contemplate giving up acting to support Khushi. She said, “I was there for Khushi’s first day of shoot, but I had to leave before she could take her first shot. I was there for her hair and makeup. I had to leave because I had to reach Lucknow to shoot Bawaal and I have cried and cried and cried. I was like, ‘kaisi behen hu mein‘ (what kind of a sister am I) what does this mean?” I wasn’t able to be there for her on her first day… I was in the worst mood and I was like, ‘main acting chhod rahi hu‘ (I’m quitting acting) I have to be there for my sister, I need to make sure everything is good.’”

anhvi also revealed how she looked up to her mother, who, at the peak of her career, gave it all up to bring up her and Khushi. She also revealed that Sridevi often cried and called them up because she was missing them. “I remember she was shooting English Vinglish, and she missed Khushi’s birthday and she called us. She was howling, saying, ‘I don’t want to act again, I just want to be there for my kids.’ And I told her, ‘Mom, it’s fine, you’ve always been there, we’ll be together soon’. I never understood that feeling, but now I do.”