Peddi director Buchi Babu Sana has reacted to the backlash the film has been facing for the alleged oversexualisation of Janhvi Kapoor. In a recent interview, the filmmaker argued that while they wanted
to present a ‘playful romance’ between Janhvi and Ram Charan in the movie, the final scenes did not come out as intended.
“I had not anticipated that the scenes would be perceived so negatively by audiences,” Buchi told SCREEN and then added, “The idea was to showcase a playful romance story between Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor. However, we’ll be more careful and make better representations.”
How Does Peddi Show Janhvi Kapoor?
Janhvi Kapoor’s introduction scene in the film is being called highly problematic. Ram Charan’s character objectifies her while describing her physical appearance in an extremely derogatory way. In a following scene, when a supporting character asks Charan’s Peddi how he will recognise Janhvi, he says, “Chehra dekh kar nahi, kamariya se phechan lenge (I can recognise her from her waist),” adding, “Uss chikri ka hume sab kuch pata hai bas chehra chod ke (I remember every bit of that lady other than her face).”
It does not end here. Ram Charan’s Peddi then visits Janhvi’s house at night and forcibly kisses her. While Janhvi expresses objection to it repeatedly, Peddi justifies it, saying it was his way of expressing love.
Netizens Slam ‘Objectification’
Netizens have come out slamming the objectification of Janhvi Kapoor’s character in Peddi.One of the users talked about the above-mentioned sequence on X and wrote, “Director’s sensibilities aside, what happened to the lead actors’ sensibilities when it came to that sequence. It’s very bizarre.” Another user called her presentation in the film “disgusting”. “SRV (Sandeep Reddy Vanga) once said that close-ups on a woman’s body parts are a director’s way of forcing the audience to stare and feel something. Now look at #Peddi. It’s exactly that,” a third comment read.
