Madhoo defends Janhvi Kapoor amid Peddi backlash: 'It depends on the camera angles'

It has only been a week since Peddi’s release and after the initial euphoria wore off, the film’s collections have now dropped to single digits. But the cause of concern for the makers of Peddi was not just limited to its box office collections, as the film’s portrayal of its lead actor, Janhvi Kapoor, received immense criticism as soon as the film released in theatres on June 4. Since then, director Buchi Babu Sana has expressed his regret over the portrayal of her character, and has made changes to the film after fans raised an alarm over how her character was objectified in the film and shown in a hypersexualised fashion. Now, actor Madhoo, who first became known for Mani Ratnam’s Roja, and eventually worked in films all across India, has spoken about the same.

'If you are not okay, you can say no'

In a chat with Galatta India, Madhoo was asked if the female actor bears any responsibility for how she is portrayed in the film. Madhoo said that while she is not aware as to what was communicated in this particular case, she mentioned that such things happen in films sometimes, as an actor is not always aware of how they are being shot on camera. “We will dance… The same thing can be shown beautifully, but it can also be shown in a sensual manner. It all depends on the camera angles and sometimes the actors are not aware. But if you are aware and you are not okay with it, then you can say that this is not okay for me,” she said.

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Madhoo added that if all of this is consensual, then it is “very personal.” “Everyone has their personal limitations in terms of what they are okay with, and what they are not okay with,” she said. When asked about the criticism that Janhvi has been receiving for her film choices, Madhoo said, “That is all very personal. That is her choice. I cannot comment, but I have to tell you that I love Janhvi as an actor. She is a true star. I feel she is a great dancer and she is improving with every film.”

About Janhvi Kapoor's Peddi controversy

Soon after the release of Peddi, the scenes featuring Janhvi and Ram Charan’s ‘love story’ were criticised massively. To this, Buchi Babu Sana told SCREEN that he had not anticipated such a reaction from the audience. “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,” he said.

Later, he said, “In my opinion, a lot of people misread Janhvi Kapoor’s track as unnecessary in an otherwise good story.” He admitted that some shots in the film were “misleading” and said, “We have taken corrective measures to remove them, and we have removed them.”

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