Regina Cassandra has challenged Janhvi Kapoor and Radhika Apte’s comments about Telugu cinema, urging actors to walk out of uncomfortable projects. She also revisited her alleged exclusion from Kesari Chapter 2 promotions, bringing Karan Johar and Dharma Productions into the controversy.
The debate surrounding the representation of women in Telugu cinema has taken another interesting turn, and this time, actress Regina Cassandra has entered the conversation with some pointed questions. Reacting to Janhvi Kapoor’s revelations about the objectification of her character in Ram Charan’s upcoming film Peddi and Radhika Apte’s uncomfortable experience working in Telugu cinema, Regina has questioned the way these issues are being discussed.
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The actress believes that performers who are uncomfortable with a film’s storyline, characterisation or presentation should exercise their right to walk away from a project. However, her comments did not stop there. Regina also raised concerns about the growing North-South divide in the entertainment industry and brought up her own experience with Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions during the promotions of Kesari Chapter 2.
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Interestingly, Regina’s remarks have opened up another conversation about representation, promotional visibility and whether actresses from different film industries receive equal treatment in Bollywood.
Regina Cassandra Tells Janhvi Kapoor and Radhika Apte to Walk Out of Uncomfortable Films
In an interview with India Today, Regina reacted to Janhvi and Radhika speaking about their respective experiences in Telugu cinema. While acknowledging the importance of women discussing uncomfortable situations, she questioned whether established actresses should feel that they have no choice but to continue working on projects they dislike.
Regina said that if an actor feels uncomfortable with a particular film or the way a character is being presented, walking away should remain an option.
She explained that she did not want the discussion to become a gender-based argument. Although she admitted that she would naturally support another woman, she felt that both Janhvi and Radhika were established actresses who had the professional standing to make decisions about their projects.
Her remarks have introduced another dimension to the debate. While Janhvi spoke about the difficulties of understanding how her character would eventually appear on screen, Regina believes actors should take greater responsibility for their decisions whenever circumstances allow.
However, the question remains: Is walking away from a film always as simple as it sounds? An actor’s professional commitments, financial arrangements, production schedules and relationships with filmmakers can make such decisions considerably more complicated.
Regina Cassandra Questions Karan Johar Over Kesari Chapter 2 Promotions
The most attention-grabbing part of Regina’s interview came when she shifted the conversation towards her own experience with Dharma Productions.
For those unaware, Regina played Parvathy Nair, the wife of Akshay Kumar’s character, in Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh. Despite being part of an important role in the historical courtroom drama, the actress claimed that she was not adequately acknowledged during the film’s promotional campaign.
Regina specifically questioned why Dharma Productions did not tag her while sharing promotional content featuring her.
She pointed out that the production house had released a song on Instagram in which she appeared throughout, yet her social media account was not tagged.
The actress questioned what she should call this treatment, particularly when the ongoing conversation was about the objectification and treatment of female performers.
She also directly connected the situation to Karan Johar, pointing out that Janhvi had discussed her uncomfortable experience on his show, Koffee With Karan, while his production house allegedly failed to acknowledge Regina during the promotions of a film in which she had worked.
Regina said she still did not understand why her name was left out and why she was not tagged in the promotional material.
Her comments are particularly interesting because they bring attention to an aspect of the entertainment business that often goes unnoticed: promotional visibility.
An actor’s contribution does not end with shooting the film. Promotional campaigns, interviews, social media posts, posters and appearances help establish an actor’s presence in the audience’s mind. When a performer feels excluded from these activities, it can affect the visibility of their work and their ability to connect with a wider audience.
However, Regina has not established why the promotional team handled her participation in that manner. Dharma Productions has not provided an explanation in the reported coverage of her allegations.
What Did Radhika Apte Say About Her Telugu Film Experience?
Regina’s reaction came after Radhika Apte spoke about an uncomfortable experience from her career in Telugu cinema.
In an interview with Zoom, Radhika recalled working in a Telugu film in which she played a woman who was married to her maternal uncle.
Without revealing the film’s name, she described the experience as extremely challenging and admitted that she hated everything about the project.
Her remarks once again brought attention to the kinds of characters female actors are sometimes expected to portray, particularly in commercial cinema.
Radhika’s comments also highlighted how an actor’s personal comfort and creative understanding of a character can differ from the filmmaker’s vision.
Importantly, she did not name the production or the filmmaker in the reported interview, so the experience should not be treated as a general representation of the entire Telugu film industry.
Why Did Janhvi Kapoor Call Her Peddi Experience Violating?
The controversy gained momentum after Janhvi Kapoor discussed her experience of playing Achiyamma opposite Ram Charan in director Buchi Babu Sana’s Peddi.
The film’s promotional material and the presentation of Janhvi’s character attracted criticism, with viewers questioning certain camera angles and the sexualisation of her character.
During her appearance on Karan Johar’s Koffee With Karan, Janhvi acknowledged that she could have been more vigilant about how her character was being presented.
She explained that she had relied on the director’s instructions while navigating the filming process. According to the actress, detailed bound scripts and advance information about camera angles were not always available to her during the shoot.
Janhvi admitted that she should have made greater use of her position and privilege to question certain creative decisions.
Describing the experience as violating, she also acknowledged that she was trying to make things less problematic as more information became available to her.
Her confession was significant because it was not simply a criticism of the film’s presentation. It was also an admission that she wished she had exercised greater control over decisions concerning her character.
The discussion has consequently moved beyond one film, raising questions about how much information actors receive before shooting intimate, revealing or potentially controversial scenes.
Will Regina Cassandra’s Remarks Create Another Bollywood-South Cinema Debate?
Regina’s biggest concern appears to be the way these individual experiences are being connected to the larger North-South divide.
She argued that when a North Indian actor speaks about South Indian cinema in a broad manner, it can unintentionally create the impression that the entire regional industry operates in the same way.
According to Regina, there are different ways to address uncomfortable professional experiences without turning them into a regional confrontation.
She also pointed out that South Indian actresses working in Hindi cinema can face their own challenges, including stigma and questions about their identity.
This is where her Kesari Chapter 2 experience becomes particularly relevant. Regina is essentially asking why conversations about representation should focus only on one side when actresses across industries may have their own experiences of being overlooked or treated unfairly.
Her comments could encourage a larger conversation about how production houses distribute promotional opportunities, recognise supporting performers and ensure that actresses receive appropriate professional visibility.
For Janhvi, the discussion may bring renewed attention to her earlier statements about Peddi. For Radhika, it could reignite conversations around the characters she has been offered in regional cinema. Meanwhile, Regina has put her own experience with a major Bollywood production house firmly into the spotlight.
There is also a larger industry question here: Can Bollywood and South Indian cinema genuinely move towards collaboration without allowing regional stereotypes to influence conversations about individual professional experiences?
What Happens Next?
The immediate attention will likely remain on Regina’s allegations against Dharma Productions and her disagreement with the way Janhvi and Radhika’s experiences have been discussed.
Her remarks do not necessarily dismiss the actresses’ discomfort. Rather, they challenge their approach while questioning why the same level of attention is not given to other actresses’ experiences.
At the same time, her comments about promotional exclusion deserve to be considered separately from the debate over objectification. Being left out of promotional activities and feeling uncomfortable with the portrayal of a character are different professional issues, even though both concern an actor’s treatment within the industry.
As of now, there is no publicly established explanation for Regina’s alleged exclusion from the Kesari Chapter 2 promotional campaign.
One thing is certain: what started as a discussion about Janhvi Kapoor’s experience in Peddi has now expanded into a much bigger conversation involving Radhika Apte, Regina Cassandra, Karan Johar and the relationship between Bollywood and South Indian cinema.
And with actresses increasingly speaking openly about their experiences, the film industry may soon have to answer some uncomfortable questions about creative control, representation and professional recognition.
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