Long before ‘Peddi’ sparked a debate about how women are represented on screen, Janhvi Kapoor had already registered her stance. In an April interview on Raj Chamani, the actress spoke with startling clarity about consent, hypersexuality, and her growing confidence in asserting boundaries on film sets.
These observations, largely noticed at the time, have now widely resurfaced with new urgency as the makers of “Peddi” face mounting criticism over the presentation of her character, Achiyyamma, and what many viewers call the film’s “objective outlook.”
What did Janhvi Kapoor say about consent and sex on screen?
In the April interview, Janhvi made a careful and thoughtful distinction between sensuality that she actively consented to and eroticism that occurred without her knowledge or consent, making it clear that only one of these is acceptable to her.
“I think at any stage, it’s important to ask yourself, what have I agreed to? For example, I did a song called Bheegi Saree (in Param Sundari) where I was wearing a wet saree, dancing in a beautifully sensual way. The idea of it was, I wouldn’t say to titillate, but it was a sensual song,” Kapoor explained.“I think if someone looked at that and said, ‘I’m not attracted to this girl,’ I would probably be offended,” Kapoor noted.
But that’s very different from sexualizing someone, especially without their consent. This, in any way, I do not agree with. This bothers me.”
Janhvi Kapoor talks about enforcing boundaries with directors and cinematographers on set
Beyond the broader question of consent, Janhvi also spoke about the more nuanced reality of an actress trying to maintain control over how she is portrayed and the professional risks that come with speaking up.The actress revealed that she has been actively working on her confidence to object when the director of photography puts the camera at an angle that makes her uncomfortable, without being labeled difficult or unprofessional in an industry that does not always welcome such a pushback from female talent.While she admitted that she often remains polite and strategically silent, carefully choosing her battles, Kapoor said she has become more willing to express her discomfort and make sure she is heard honestly, while remaining professional in how she does so.
Janhvi Kapoor talks about industry bias and casting
In the same conversation, Janhvi Kapoor spoke candidly about the broader structural pressures that shape the roles offered to actresses in the first place and how public appetite, as perceived by filmmakers, directly influences casting decisions.
She revealed that there is an expectation in the industry that audiences will first encounter a heroine in a glamorous or overtly physical avatar within a director’s body of work, and that what viewers seem to respond to about the actress often determines what type of projects are subsequently considered.
More on “Peddi” and the backlash it sparked
‘Peddi’ is Janhvi Kapoor’s latest release, in which she stars alongside Ram Charan as a character named Achiyyamma. The film generated significant controversy, with critics and audiences claiming that the presentation of her character amounted to objectification and that the film’s visual treatment of Achiyyamma prioritizes the male gaze over any meaningful characterization.
The backlash has sparked a broader conversation about representation, consent and the responsibilities of filmmakers towards actresses in their productions, a conversation that Kapoor’s interview has resurfaced and is now gaining momentum.Released on June 4, ‘Peddi’ is a sports action drama, directed by Bushi Babu Sana and starring Ram Charan in the titular role with Shiva Rajkummar, Janhvi Kapoor, Gajapati Babu, Divyendu Sharma, Boman Irani and Ravi Kishan in pivotal roles.
Music is composed by AR Rahman.
More about Janhvi Kapoor
Janhvi Kapoor made her acting debut in Karan Johar’s ‘Dhadak’ in 2018 and has steadily expanded her range across a diverse range of works, from the biopic ‘Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl’ and horror comedy ‘Roohi’ to the survival thriller ‘Mili’, the spy drama ‘Ulajh’ and the sports romance ‘Mr. & Mrs Mahi’.More recently, she received some of the strongest critical notices of her career for her performance in Homebound, directed by National Award-winning director Neeraj Ghaywan, in which she played a lower-caste woman overcoming social discrimination, a role that was widely viewed as a major growth in performance.
