Janhvi Kapoor’s sexual objectification scenes in Peddi have taken social media, and even offline audience discussions, by storm. Many viewers have slammed how her role carries little importance to the narrative and appears designed primarily to titillate the audience by focusing the camera on her physical assets. Many have also pointed to how Ram Charan’s character seems to view her largely as a sexual object he desires rather than as a fully developed character.
One particular scene has generated intense debate. Ram Charan’s character kisses Janhvi Kapoor’s character without her consent, a moment that many viewers have described as sexual assault. Why director Buchi Babu Sana chose to write and present such a scene has become a major point of discussion. Charan’s behavior comes across more like that of a cheap, horny villain than a hero whom audiences are expected to root for.
The backlash has been heavy, severe, and brutal. However, some people are surprised by the scale of the discourse surrounding Janhvi Kapoor’s sequences in Peddi.
Many are now curious about how different sections of the internet, including feminists and those often labeled as “pseudo-feminists” by their detractors, will react when Yash’s Toxic releases.
If a few scenes in Peddi can generate this much debate, outrage, and commentary, the conversations around Toxic could unfold on an entirely different scale. The film is being promoted as featuring some of the boldest sexualized scenes and characters in recent mainstream Indian cinema. Not just Yash, but the characters played by Kiara Advani, Nayanthara, Huma Qureshi, and others are also being described as extremely bold.
However, the problem with Peddi is not simply glamour or sexuality. The bigger issue is the way the characters and situations are portrayed. The objectification of the heroine and a non-consensual sexual act being presented as playful romance are far more problematic. The fact that such a scene appears in a film headlined by a top-tier star like Ram Charan has only intensified the backlash.
By contrast, some believe that even if Toxic contains substantial glamour and bold scenes, it may not attract the same backlash if those moments are portrayed within a framework of consent, story relevance, and narrative necessity. The concern arises when forced sexual acts, non-consensual behavior, or sexual violence are framed as romance or entertainment.
Others argue that Toxic may face less scrutiny because it is directed by a woman, whereas Peddi is directed by a man. They suggest that this difference could influence how some commentators respond. However, judging reactions solely through the gender of the filmmaker is a flawed way of understanding the debate.
Ultimately, audiences tend to respond more strongly to how scenes are written, framed, and justified within the narrative than to the gender of the person behind the camera.
