Dimple Hayathi, Ashika defend Janhvi Kapoor amid Peddi backlash: ‘Blame the system’

4 min readHyderabadJun 7, 2026 11:26 AM IST

Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor in a still from Peddi.

The controversy around Janhvi Kapoor‘s portrayal in Peddi has been building since the film’s first show on Thursday. By Saturday, it had pulled in voices from within the Telugu film industry itself, sharing their two cents on the issue.

‘Blame the system, not the actress’

Dimple Hayathi, who has appeared in Telugu films, many with actor Ravi Teja, posted one of the most detailed and direct responses to emerge from within the industry on X. “I’m so glad today on this day we all are speaking about how actresses roles are being written and the instinctive response to blame actress after doing what she was offered,” she wrote. “Don’t blame the actress. Blame the system and makers who really think that’s what sells.”

She went further, describing the structural conditions that define what is available to actresses trying to build careers in the industry. “We actors get to work within the opportunities what we get trying to make it big and hoping we would be working in bigger films and reach wider audiences. If the characters are underwritten the responsibility lies more with writing and filmmaking choices than the woman playing the role.”

Hayathi also addressed how actresses are reduced to the characters they play, regardless of what they are actually capable of. “Unfortunately we are stereotyped by image which and how things unfold with characters that we play without getting the opportunity to showcase our full potential to perform, whereas when the hero centered stories takeover the liberty to project.”

I’m so glad today on this day we all are speaking about how actresses roles are being written and the instinctive response to blame actress after doing what she was offered ,dont blame the actress blame the system and makers who really think that’s what sells .. and we actors get…

— Dimple Hayathi (@DimpleHayathi) June 6, 2026

Ashika Ranganath, a Kannada actress who has appeared in several Telugu productions, posted a statement that covered similar ground in fewer words. “Don’t blame the actress. Blame the system and the makers who still think this is what sells. Actors often work within the opportunities available to them, hoping to be part of bigger films and reach wider audiences,” she wrote.

‘Cinema is reflection of society’

Anasuya Bharadwaj, actress and former host of ETV’s Jabardasth, took a different line. In a detailed multi-slide post on Instagram on Saturday, she argued, “Cinema has always reflected society but i do not believe it should be burdened with sole responsibility of raising or educating it,” She acknowledged that films are powerful and influence behaviour, perceptions and conversations, but said the responsibility for distinguishing right from wrong also lies with audiences, families and broader social structures.

She clarified she was not calling for censorship or moral policing, but for a more thoughtful, shared awareness between creators and audiences. She also reflected on her own career, writing that speaking her mind on such issues had sometimes created professional difficulties for her, but that she had stood by her beliefs regardless.

Also Read: Peddi director Buchi Babu addresses intense backlash over Janhvi Kapoor scenes

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“Creative freedom is essential, equally essential is the awareness that freedom and responsibility can co-exist. Perharps the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Not expecting films to parent society, but not pretending they have no influence either.” The post was widely read as a defence of the filmmakers, though Anasuya did not frame it that way. Responses online were divided, with some praising the nuance and others arguing it avoided the specificity of what had actually been shown on screen.

What started all of this

Peddi, directed by Buchi Babu Sana and starring Ram Charan alongside Janhvi Kapoor, released on Thursday. But within hours of the first shows, a separate conversation had broken out about the film’s treatment of its female lead.

The criticism centred on the romance track between the two leads. Viewers, particularly women, described the track as a normalisation of harassment presented as romance.

On Saturday, director Buchi Babu Sana issued a public apology on X. “We have heard the feedback regarding certain scenes in Peddi and have taken it seriously,” he wrote, adding that cinema should not make anyone feel “uncomfortable or disrespected” and that changes to the scenes in question were underway.