Not Backlash For Peddi, Janhvi Kapoor Needs To Make Better Script Choices

Janhvi saw the South embracing her with open arms, just the way they welcomed her mother, India’s first female superstar, Sridevi. While nothing really compares to  ’s experience, Kapoor had the chance and choice to script history once again. Her fans and critics believed the films offered to her in Bollywood never broke the glass ceiling for her. The calling from the Telugu film fraternity was strong and another way to keep Sridevi’s legacy alive.

Janhvi’s graceful presence, goodwill in the industry and professionalism put her at the top of the league in the South. She was actively offered a variety of scripts for big-ticket entertainers. Her manifestation skills were so strong that she got to work with her favourite Tollywood actor, Jr NTR, in her debut Telugu movie,  Just then, pan-Indian cinema had found its ground and Janhvi carried the responsibility of building a new fan base there and getting her existing admirers to see a different side of her craft. Sadly, the career graph that she had in Hindi cinema went through a massive transformation, restricting her screen time in the film to barely minutes.

Devara, just like most hypermasculine action thrillers, believed in the stereotypical hero worship, leaving very little for the actress to perform. Kapoor’s over-the-top expressions and wafer-thin subplot made many question her decision to say yes to the Koratala Siva directorial. The cameras were celebrating her drop-dead gorgeousness. Songs focused on her well-toned abs and expressions. Those low-waist sarees and bralette-style blouses, unfortunately, made her the ‘eye candy’; that’s it.

In between Devara and  , Janhvi did a couple of Hindi titles and continued delivering content-driven cinema as well as massy entertainers. While Devara never got intimate beyond a certain level. However, the final nail in the coffin was Peddi.

A massive social media outrage led to fans and critics wondering how okay Janhvi was with kissing a much older   in a scene that was supposed to be romantic but turned out to be problematic. Her introduction scene in the film did not put the cameras on her face, but all the focus was on her waist.

The hero of Peddi, Ram Charan, says a dialogue that he can identify her by just looking at her waist. He randomly kisses her after the lights go off accidentally. The way Janhvi has been projected in Peddi was derogatory. The larger picture here is what was shown. But it also raises the question of why Janhvi, one of the most promising new faces, did not use her power to say yes or no to a film just in case the script doesn’t meet expectations.

It is not true that Janhvi can’t act or take risks. Since Dhadak to Homebound, she has matured as an actor and now is the right time for her to sign scripts that don’t present her only as the heroine. Unafraid of trying new territories with a variety of unconventional scripts, Kapoor has ably carried films on her shoulders.

When her contemporaries were busy finding their comfort zones, Janhvi pushed her limits and made sure every film had something new to take away. Balancing commercial masala entertainers with content-driven cinema, she has done it all. Janhvi displayed her acting skills in Mili, a survival drama where her character is locked inside a cold storage. Though wasn’t centered around her, Sudha Bharti, she still made the film stronger with her contribution. Shedding the urban girl’s image, she impressed even in Good Luck Jerry, a black comedy.

From Zoya Akhtar’s short film in the Netflix anthology, Ghost Stories, to a complex Suhana Bhatia in Ulajh, Janhvi has proven that she also deserves better scripts. Then, what’s forcing her to do films like Devara and Peddi, where her respect as an actor is limited to only romancing the hero?

Janhvi has often called Telugu cinema her ‘home’. When she steps out to promote movies down South, it gives the illusion that she has a longer runtime than some other fellow actresses in Tollywood. Call it nepotism or quality work in the past, Janhvi has the luxury to deny a script that doesn’t match her ideology. Recently, an unverified fan page leaked an alleged chat with Janhvi on Instagram, where the Instagram post claims that the actress admitted not being happy with her objectification in Peddi. If the chat is real, it is a serious matter because sets where filmmakers don’t care for what their actors are comfortable with are not creatively free and independent.

The way Hindi filmmakers view Janhvi says a lot. Yes, the male gaze in cinema exists, and some South Indian movie makers tend to look at actresses with a tone-deaf approach. It would have been impossible to make a Mr And Mrs Mahi or a Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl with anyone, even Janhvi, in Tollywood. Kapoor struck gold with balanced performances in the above titles.

The question that whom to blame for objectifying a female character like Achiyamma in Peddi would linger for the longest time, as it is about two creative people doing their jobs. Janhvi, as she often tells in interviews, is a director’s actor. In between the debate about whether   or Koratala Siva are the reasons behind the Telugu audience looking at Kapoor as eye candy, or the actress needs to make better choices, the latter could be an easier bet, as Janhvi knows well that she is capable of more.

Certainly, Janhvi has a long way to go and having grown up in the film industry, commercial cinema is more tempting than content-driven, but making the right choice and reflecting on what that person is capable and worthy of is mandatory. Be it Telugu or Hindi, Janhvi deserves a lot more opportunities that resonate with her.