Buchi Babu Sana’s sports action drama Peddi has come under scrutiny over the portrayal of Janhvi Kapoor’s character, Achiyyamma. While the film has faced criticism for objectifying the female lead and blurring the lines between romance and consent, actor Gayatri Chaganti has now entered the debate. Reacting to a viral social media post defending Janhvi, Gayatri argued that the actress should not be viewed as a victim in the controversy.
Gayatri Chaganti takes a dig at Janhvi Kapoor
An Instagram page called Recommendation Community shared a post criticising the makers of Peddi for the way Janhvi’s character was portrayed. The post carried the title, “Peddi: The most expensive disrespect ever paid to a leading woman in Indian cinema.”
The post argued that it is often easy to blame actresses for the roles they choose, but claimed that the circumstances surrounding Peddi were more complex. It stated, “Reports show that Janhvi Kapoor explicitly questioned these shots during post-production, a boundary that perfectly mirrors her recent public stance against the industry’s habit of oversexualizing women. She drew a professional line, but the final edit kept the footage anyway. This isn’t a case of an actress failing to stand up for herself. It is a director choosing to ignore a boundary because he decided her consent mattered less than his box office numbers.”
Reacting to the post, Gayatri disagreed with the suggestion that Janhvi was solely a victim in the situation. In the comments section, she wrote, “I agree with everything but Janhvi being an obvious victim here. She has played an eye candy in pretty much every film before this. If we’re being real here, no one is hiring her for her acting chops.”
She further elaborated on her point, writing, “In fact, she doesn’t miss any chance to sexualise every character through her costumes (irrespective of the backstory). Her body is her whole image. I am all for flaunting glamour when the character needs to. Go on, do your thing. But in a film like Param Sundari? Total unnecessary. All her ‘traditional modest outfits’ are still made to look sexy.”
Gayatri added, “Then she suddenly rips into an explicitly revealing saree for her engagement song, happening in rural Kerala. Not to forget Sunny Sanskari Ki Tulsi Kumari. Her cleavage is seen even in the scenes where she’s playing a teacher, a preschool teacher no less. I can name ten more such instances but, you get the picture.”
About the criticism
Peddi’s romantic subplot has drawn criticism from some viewers, who argued that certain scenes blur the line between romance and consent. In one sequence, Peddi expresses his desire to be with Achiyyamma despite her lack of interest and later kisses her during a power cut without her consent. The scene sparked debate online, with several social media users describing the act as assault and questioning why it is portrayed differently from similar behaviour by another character in the film, who is clearly presented as a villain.
Following the backlash, Buchi Babu Sana issued an apology on X and acknowledged the concerns raised by audiences. A part of his statement read, “I have always had immense respect for women, both on and off screen, and it was never our intention to objectify or disrespect any female character. If any part of the film has been perceived that way, we respect those sentiments, understand the concerns being raised, and sincerely apologise. After reviewing the feedback, we have decided to make changes to the concerned portions.”
Despite the controversy, Peddi, which stars Ram Charan alongside Janhvi Kapoor, Shiva Rajkumar, Divyenndu and Boman Irani, has continued its strong run at the box office, crossing ₹150 crore worldwide.