On Koffee With Karan Season 9, the actress addressed the Janhvi Kapoor Peddi objectification row and said discomfort with certain costumes is something she now voices to directors.
Karan Johar brought up the Peddi controversy himself on the latest episode of Koffee With Karan Season 9, turning to Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda to talk about how Janhvi Kapoor was shot in the Ram Charan starrer earlier this year.
Janhvi had faced a wave of criticism after fans flagged what they called objectifying camera angles and costuming in Peddi. The backlash was loud enough that several actors weighed in publicly on how South Indian cinema frames its women. Johar told Rashmika he hasn't seen that kind of treatment directed at her, then asked whether she's been deliberate about avoiding it.
Her answer was blunt. "There are some things that I am not okay with," Rashmika said. "I know some characters sort of need something like a bikini or something like that, but even in that, I would say I am not very comfortable with exposing or skin show. I am not that kind of person."
She added that commercial films sometimes come with costume demands she's not willing to meet, and that she's learned to say so. "There are lines that I draw for myself, which most often directors are okay with," she said. "Those are the kind of people I prefer working with."
Vijay jumped in to point out that having that conversation on set still isn't easy, and Rashmika agreed. She described checking in with him before raising objections of her own, asking if it was safe to push back. His answer, she said, is always yes.
The pressure actors don't talk about
Vijay went further, describing the specific kind of pressure actors face once they've signed on to a project. He said the industry has a way of making performers feel unprofessional for raising concerns, as though a signed contract means swallowing every discomfort that follows. That, he argued, is why actors need a support system willing to tell them a no is allowed, rather than being nudged into going along with something just to avoid friction on set.
The Peddi row itself hasn't fully died down. Screenshots said to be from a private chat between Janhvi and fan pages went viral during the controversy, allegedly showing her venting about the camera work and how her character was being shown on screen. Neither the authenticity of those screenshots nor any official response from the Peddi team has settled the matter one way or the other.
What Rashmika's comments do confirm is that the conversation around her Peddi co-star's treatment has travelled well beyond that one film, landing on a chat show set that's rarely shy about naming names. Whether other actors use their own Koffee appearances to address it, or whether Janhvi herself eventually responds directly, remains open.
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