Janhvi Kapoor admitted Peddi featured extreme objectification and a narrative that propagated sexual assault.
She said the backlash over her character Achiyamma still weighs heavily on her conscience.
She described filming the disputed scenes as a violating experience and said she felt uncomfortable throughout the shoot.
Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Peddi was released in theatres on June 4, 2026. The Buchi Babu Sana directorial received severe criticism from critics and audiences for portraying Janhvi in an overly sexualised manner and reducing her character Achiyamma to an object. The Telugu drama was called out for unnecessary scenes involving non-consensual touching. Jahnvi Kapoor has finally broken her silence on the row.
Janhvi Kapoor on Peddi controversy
On the latest episode of Koffee with Karan 9, Janhvi Kapoor said she should have pushed back harder against Peddi’s treatment of women. She said the film relied on extreme objectification and carried a storyline that propagated sexual assault. She added that the criticism over her character, Achiyamma, still weighs heavily on her conscience.
Kapoor said the backlash has stayed with her because of the possible impact such storytelling can have on society. She also said she now sees the portrayal as deeply problematic and believes she should have been more vigilant during the making of the film.
On online criticism
Viewers raised questions about a scene they said reduced Achiyamma to an object and showed her being kissed without consent. Janhvi said shooting them was a “violating experience in a way”. She added that she felt uneasy for the entire schedule and described the “discomfort throughout shooting”. When asked about the online debate that followed, she said, “I am glad.”
On dealing with the backlash
When Karan Johar asked Kapoor how she had dealt with the criticism and accepted her role in the film, she said, “I feel many people worked really hard on that film, and I really didn't know if there was anything to say. It weighs heavily on my conscience, the sort of negative impact a narrative like that can have on our society, specifically on my gender. That shame I will always carry with me.”
Blames herself for not being more vigilant
Kapoor said the backlash forced her to question how she handled the shoot and whether she should have resisted more firmly. “Could I have done more? Could I have been more vigilant? One hundred per cent, yes. Was it problematic? Was it extreme objectification? Did it even propagate sexual assault narratively? Yes. But the only thing I can do is ensure that it doesn't happen again,” she said.
“I feel like I went through the beats of really beating myself up, thinking that I should have been more vigilant and I should have made a bigger scene. I don’t like saying this because it sounds like I am shifting the blame, but you know what it feels like? You feel like, whatever the director says, I was navigating how to make things less problematic as best as I thought, as and when information was becoming available to me,” she added.
The 29-year-old actor also said she recognised the privilege she holds in the film industry and should have used it more. “I do come from a place of privilege. I should have taken advantage of that because I am going to get the s*** for being privileged anyway. So, I might as well have leveraged it.”
