Producer Prerna Arora discusses sexualizing the female lead on film with Subhash K Jha.
What is your take on the way Janhvi Kapoor is sexualized in Peddi?
I haven’t seen the final film yet so that I won’t comment on specifics. But my view is clear: sensuality on screen is valid when it has narrative purpose and the actor has full agency. If it’s the character’s choice, I support it. If it’s just the camera’s choice, we have a problem. Audiences today can tell the difference. As makers, our job is to respect that line.
Do South directors need to be more careful?
Not just South. Every director, in every industry. The South has given us some of the most dignified, powerful female portrayals: Sridevi in Moondram Pirai, Anushka in Arundhati, and Sai Pallavi in Gargi. It’s also had item numbers that reduce women to props. So yes, we all need to be more careful. Not “careful” as in conservative. Careful, as in conscious.
Please explain?
Ask: Does this shot move story or just male gaze? Would we film a male star this way in the same scene? Has the actor been walked through the intent, lensing, and edit? The shift is already happening. Ram Charan, Allu Arjun, and even Jr NTR films now give heroines real arcs. The box office rewards that. If sensuality serves the character, story, or an authentic cultural moment – and the actor is fully consenting and comfortable – it’s a creative choice. The problem is when it’s gratuitous, or when a woman’s body is used as “interval block decoration” with no agency. Audiences today are sharp. They know the difference between a character owning her sexuality vs. the camera owning her. The first one earns respect. The second one costs it.
