Remarks by Janhvi Kapoor and Radhika Apte about their experiences in Telugu films have been widely debated on social media. Actor Regena Cassandrra responded in an interview with India Today.
What Janhvi and Radhika said
- On Karan Johar's Koffee With Karan, Janhvi Kapoor spoke about how her character in Peddi was shot. She said she should have pushed back harder: "I should have taken advantage of my privilege. It was a violating experience in a way."
- Promoting Akka in a conversation with Zoom, Radhika Apte described a Telugu film in which her character marries her maternal uncle. "I hated everything about it," she said, without naming the film.
Regena's response
"If you feel uncomfortable, please walk out of the film," Regena said, adding that established actors have that choice. "You are creating a North-South divide without even realising it, and that is absolutely wrong." She said she faces stigma in the North as a South Indian actress, and that she was left out of promotions for Kesari: Chapter 2, where she played Akshay Kumar's wife, with no reason given.
She said the issue is not men versus women and that she was speaking as an outsider. The Hans India reports producer SKN also responded on social media. Janhvi and Radhika had not replied to Regena by Thursday night. Regena plays the antagonist in Mookuthi Amman 2, releasing on November 6.
