Janhvi Kapoor Under Fire Over Peddi Remarks
One user commented, "She is not a kid bro. She did understand what the director's intention was, and they shot it with her consent only. It was not forceful."
Actress Janhvi Kapoor has found herself at the centre of a fresh controversy following her remarks about the way her role was presented in Peddi. After maintaining silence for months, the actress finally opened up about her experience during a conversation with Karan Johar.
Janhvi admitted that she had been hard on herself for not being more vigilant while shooting the film. She explained that actors often depend on the director's vision and added that, in South Indian cinema, bound scripts and detailed camera angles are rarely shared with actors. She also felt that she should have made better use of her privilege to question certain aspects of the portrayal.
Describing the experience as violating, she said she hoped it would make filmmakers think twice before presenting a female lead in such a manner in the future.
However, her comments about South filmmakers rarely providing bound scripts have not gone down well with a section of social media users. Several netizens accused the actress of making a sweeping statement about South Indian cinema and questioned her own understanding of the roles she agreed to portray.
One user commented, "She is not a kid bro. She did understand what the director's intention was, and they shot it with her consent only. It was not forceful."
Another user, writing in Telugu, pointed out that actresses from the South have delivered major hits and questioned the obsession with bringing North Indian actresses into South Indian films.
A third user took objection to her generalisation of South cinema, writing, "What do you mean by South? Be specific about the industry in which you did such shitty roles. I belong to Kerala, and here films can't win at the box office solely on navel show and cuteness of an actress. You need talented artists and a good script."
With her comments triggering a fresh debate online, Janhvi's remarks have once again brought the portrayal of female actors in commercial cinema and the working practices of South Indian film industries into the spotlight.