Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad

Hyderabad, Jun 6: Director Buchi Babu Sana has acknowledged the criticism surrounding the portrayal of Janhvi Kapoor's character in the recently released film Peddi, admitting that certain portions of the movie did not resonate with audiences as intended.

In an interaction with SCREEN, the filmmaker said he was surprised by the intensity of the backlash directed at the romance track involving Janhvi Kapoor's character Achiyyamma and Ram Charan's character Peddi.

“I had not anticipated that the scenes would be perceived so negatively by audiences,” Buchi Babu said, adding that the experience would influence how he writes female characters in future projects.

“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.

The controversy centres on the film's first-half romance track. Critics and viewers, particularly women, objected to scenes involving Achiyyamma's introduction and the subsequent courtship sequence, arguing that the film normalised behaviour involving harassment and non-consensual advances while presenting it as romance.

Several viewers expressed concern over scenes in which the protagonist openly discusses touching the female lead without consent and later frames physical confrontation as an expression of affection. Critics argued that the narrative ultimately validates such behaviour by resolving the conflict through a romantic reconciliation without any consequences for the character's actions.

While the second half of the sports drama, set in Andhra Pradesh's Vizianagaram district and centred on a struggle for identity among unnamed villages, received praise from many viewers, the romance portions drew widespread criticism across social media platforms and film circles.

The debate has also renewed discussion about the portrayal of women in mainstream cinema and the responsibility of filmmakers in depicting relationships and consent.

The controversy has further drawn attention to Buchi Babu's debut film Uppena, which won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu. Some critics have pointed out similarities in the way romantic pursuit and female characters were portrayed in both films, though those concerns received less attention at the time of Uppena's release.

With Peddi attracting a much larger audience and generating a stronger public response, Buchi Babu's remarks are being viewed as a rare acknowledgment of audience criticism and a possible indication of changes in his future storytelling approach.