Jahnavi Soni: Acting has made me more empathetic and cautious:

Paro Sang Dev actress Jahnavi Soni shared how acting has influenced her understanding of people and emotions. She explained that the craft has helped her become more sensitive toward others while making her more aware of intentions and behaviors. For her, acting is not limited to performing on screen but is closely connected to observing and living moments truthfully in real life.

“Acting teaches you to live every moment carefully”

Jahnavi said that this profession has changed how she experiences small moments in her life. She stated, “Acting has made me more empathetic and cautious. And it really helps me to understand other people's intentions. And I also understand myself according to the way we feel. Acting teaches us how to live every moment of our life more carefully. Because acting is all about living. It is all about observing and living truthfully. Because if I am happy in every small thing in my life, and if I don't have the ability to live small things, then I think that the truth will not be visible on the screen.”

She explained that she constantly observes real-life situations and stores them in her mind. These observations help her portray characters with more accuracy. “I observe every incident, every moment of my life, and capture it in my mind. That way I can act better on the screen and show it,” she added.

Acting has made me more empathetic and cautious. And it really helps me to understand other people's intentions. And I also understand myself according to the way we feel

- Jhanvi Soni

Learning from different personalities and characters

Jahnavi shared that each role she plays brings new insights. Different characters allow her to understand varied emotional backgrounds, insecurities, and behavior patterns. She said, “You get to learn a lot—their behavior pattern, the class they come from, if they are not someone's parents, then what childhood trauma they have, how they behave, what insecurities they have, their behavior, and their body language. So, as a human being, I still have those feelings inside me. Even though my parents are with me, if I am playing an orphan, I have to feel the character. How does she see the world? So, I got to learn a lot of things.”

She added that her habit of observing people in real life has also strengthened her understanding of characters. “If someone is educated and rich, then how will he be? How will he be confident? And taking a lot of risks for them is a very small thing. So, their body language and their thinking pattern are very different. Whether it is their way of eating or their way of sitting, there are a lot of differences in different personalities. I have learned a lot of things in real life too. I can see those things, and I can use them,” she said.

Using real emotions when required

Jahnavi concluded by saying that if a script requires emotions connected to her own life, she does not hesitate to use them to bring honesty to the performance. “I think I should fulfill it on the screen with the same exact truth. I don't think I should be selfish here,” she shared.