3 min readHyderabadJun 7, 2026 01:11 PM IST
Before Peddi released, before the backlash began, before director Buchi Babu Sana issued a public apology on X, actor Janhvi Kapoor Janhvi Kapoor made a remark at a promotional event for the film. A clip of that speech is now going viral, with her comments being viewed in a very different light.
“When you review the film, whatever I have done, please attribute it to him,” Janhvi told media during the film’s promotions, pointing to Buchi Babu Sana.
She went further. “He used to give me very out of the box directions. He would tell me what to do with the jeep, what to do with my skirt, how to speak. The manner and attitude of this character is very extraordinaryly different.”
Janhvi Kapoor described Buchi Babu Sana, who built his reputation with the National Award-winning Uppena in 2021 and is known for his quiet, unassuming presence in public, with a phrase that landed as a punchline during the promotions. “He looks like he is innocent but he is the most rowdy director of India.”
She also spoke about what Peddi had done for her as a performer. “I have opened up enormously as an actor over the last two years, and the entire credit for that goes to Peddi and its director Buchi Babu Sana.”
Also Read: Peddi ignores consent, normalises assault, yet pretends to be a story about dignity
Why the clip is getting attention
The interaction was from a promotional event ahead of Peddi’s Thursday release. At the time, it played as enthusiastic praise from an actress who felt genuinely freed by a director’s unconventional approach. The references to her skirt, clearly referring to physical performance choices Buchi Babu had asked her to make, were understood in the context of an actor describing an immersive creative process. After the film released, the context shifted entirely.
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The romance track in Peddi, which centres on Janhvi Kapoor’s character Achiyyamma, drew immediate and widespread criticism. Viewers called out sequences involving non-consensual physical contact framed as romance, a scene where Achiyyamma’s skirt is cut by rivals to humiliate her publicly, and a resolution in which the hero tells Achiyyamma that touching her without consent was simply his way of expressing love. The backlash spread beyond Telugu film audiences and into national mainstream media. Buchi Babu Sana issued a formal apology on X on Saturday, acknowledging that the scenes had made audiences uncomfortable and confirming that edits would be made.
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