Peddi Lyricist QUESTIONS Director Buchi Babu Sana's Apology After Backlash, Asks 'What Have We Done To Creativity?'

Peddi,

starring Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor, landed in controversy hours after its release over a kissing scene. The sequence, which was slammed by netizens, showed the male character touching the heroine without her consent. Close-up shots of Janhvi's body also sparked major backlash online. Amid the criticism, director Buchi Babu Sana apologised and removed the controversial scenes from the sports drama. While this appeared to calm the row, lyricist Anantha Sriram is not okay with the makers having to apologise. According to him, a character's behaviour stems from the filmmaker's imagination and should be viewed in that context.

Peddi Lyricist QUESTIONS Director Buchi Babu Sana's Apology

Recently, at an event for Peddi, lyricist Anantha Sriram defended the director's creative freedom. He argued that people often praise complex or sophisticated expressions but criticise simple, local language used by a character. According to him, judging characters by modern standards and social media opinions can limit creativity. He said that director Buchi Babu may have apologised out of politeness or to avoid hurting anyone's feelings, but warned that such reactions could make it difficult for filmmakers to present strong ideas in commercial cinema."That is, if you use big words like vital attraction, hormonal reactions, etc., it is called awesome as if it is done very aesthetically. If the hero speaks his tribal language and says, 'I will touch you, it is called vulgarity; they say that he looked at you like an object. If you do all this, it is like trampling on creativity," he said.

He added that if it continues like this, then filmmakers will not be able to "make a great point in commercial films, except in documentary films in the first place."

Peddi Director's Apology

After netizens slammed the makers of Peddi for "hysexualising" Janhvi's character Achiyamma, Peddi director issued an apology on X. He said that he never wanted to make anyone feel uncomfortable or disrespected. "We have heard the feedback regarding certain scenes in Peddi and have taken it seriously," the statement read.He added that he has immense respect for women and didn't intend to objectify the female character. He "sincerely" apologised for the way it was perceived and promised to cut the controversial scenes. Meanwhile, the film has managed to create buzz at the box office despite the controversy. Also starring Divyendu Sharma, Shiva Rajkumar and Boman Irani, it recently crossed the Rs 200 crore mark at the box office.