Janhvi Kapoor Opens Up on the Peddi Backlash: “I Should Have Done More”

On Koffee With Karan Season 9, Janhvi Kapoor addressed the controversy around her character in Peddi. The conversation was candid, emotional and, for many fans, long overdue. Instead of defending the film, she took a hard look at her own part in it.

What Sparked the Controversy for Janhvi Kapoor?

Peddi stars Ram Charan and Janhvi in the lead roles. Her character, Achiyama, drew criticism online for how she was portrayed, with viewers calling out costumes and camera angles they found over-sexualised. Director Buchi Babu Sana later apologised and removed the objectionable shots from the film.

What Janhvi Said?

When Karan Johar asked if the criticism was fair, Janhvi explained why she stayed quiet so long. Many people had worked hard on the film, and she wasn’t sure what to say. But she chose to own her share of the fallout, saying, “That shame I’ll always carry with me.”

Here are the main points she made:

• She wishes she had spoken up more. She admitted she could have been more vigilant and made a bigger scene, and acknowledged the portrayal was problematic.
• She worried about the wider impact. The negative message such a portrayal sends to society, especially about women, weighs on her conscience.
• Film sets have limits. She explained that she tried to make things less problematic as she learned details, but scripts in the South are rarely fully bound and camera angles are seldom shared in advance.
• Privilege came with responsibility. She said she should have used her privileged position to push back harder.
• It was a violating experience. She described discomfort she had voiced during shooting and even post-production, while taking care not to cast herself as a victim.

The Silver Lining She Sees

Janhvi ended on a hopeful note. She believes the episode might make the next filmmaker think twice before presenting a lead actress this way. She also hopes the next actor who feels uncomfortable can speak up without being treated as unreasonable.

That’s the most powerful part of her answer. It shifts the focus from blame to change, and it speaks to a wider conversation in Indian cinema about how women are shown on screen and how much say actors really have. You can read more about the actress in her Wikipedia profile.

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