Regena Cassandra Weighs in on Treatment of Women in Telugu Film Industry

Actor Regena Cassandra has weighed in on the ongoing conversation around the treatment of women in the Telugu film industry, following Janhvi Kapoor’s remarks about the Peddi controversy on Koffee With Karan and Radhika Apte’s account of working in Telugu cinema . While Regena said she was glad that actresses were speaking about their experiences, she questioned their approach and cautioned against creating a North-South divide. She also brought up her own experience with Dharma Productions’ Kesari Chapter 2, claiming that despite playing Akshay Kumar’s wife in the film, she was left out of its promotional campaign. In an interview with India Today, Regena said actors should be able to take a stand if they are uncomfortable with a scene or the way their characters are presented. She argued that they should not feel compelled to continue with a film if they disagree with what is being asked of them. “At the end of the day, it is in an actor’s hands. If you feel uncomfortable, please walk out of the film. I don’t think we should put ourselves in a position where we say we had no choice. And this is not about men or women. I am saying this as an outsider, as a third person who does not want to take sides. Of course, as a woman, I will always support a woman. But I don’t think either Janhvi or Radhika is in a position where they should feel they couldn’t make a decision. You can walk out of a film,” she said. Responding to Janhvi’s remarks that she was not always aware of how certain scenes would be picturised because she did not receive bound scripts with detailed scene descriptions, Regena spoke about her experience working in Telugu and Tamil cinema. “In some films, you get certain scenes only at 6 am on the day of the shoot. But generally, you know the story, the character and what the film is about. You walk into a film knowing most of these things, even if you don’t know the minute details of the scene you are going to shoot that day. In some films, you get the entire script in a hardbound copy,” she said. Comparing working practices in the Hindi and South Indian film industries, Regena said sets in Mumbai were generally more organised, with detailed call sheets containing shooting schedules, scene numbers and information about the cast and crew. “In Mumbai, things are very different. They are extremely organised. You get your call sheet, and your manager gets another one. It has the sunrise and sunset timings, shooting schedule, cinematographer, technicians, assistant directors and their contact details, the artists involved and scene numbers. Everything is mentioned on one sheet. Anyone looking at it can understand what is happening on the set. It is not always that organised here,” she said. Regena added that women should feel empowered to speak up and take a stand, but felt that Janhvi could have raised her concerns before the film was made. ALSO READ: Ramayana Part 1 Movie Review LIVE Updates: Ranbir Kapoor’s Parshuram divides the internet Regena said she had not watched Janhvi’s full conversation on Koffee With Karan, although she had come across memes about it. While she welcomed the fact that actresses were discussing uncomfortable experiences, she took issue with how the conversation was being framed. “At the end of the day, I am glad they are talking about it. But the problem is that when a North Indian actor talks about South cinema like that, I have a big problem with it. You cannot do that. You are creating a North-South divide without even realising it, and that is absolutely wrong. There are different ways of handling these issues and different ways of talking about them. There is already a North-South divide, and I say this as a South Indian actor who works in the Hindi film industry,” she said. She went on to bring up her experience with Dharma Productions’ Kesari Chapter 2, in which she played Akshay Kumar’s wife. Regena claimed that despite having a prominent role, she was not included in the film’s promotional campaign. “Janhvi Kapoor has spoken about being objectified and feeling that she did not have a voice or a chance to say no. But the same Karan Johar, through Dharma Productions, made a film with me called Kesari Chapter 2 and decided not to promote me. Now, what am I supposed to call that? Is that objectification because I am a South Indian? To this day, I don’t know why my name was not included,” she said. She added that a song released from the film featured her throughout, but she was neither tagged on social media nor informed about the release. “They released a song from the film, and I am the only one in it, from beginning to end. But there was no tag. Nobody even came and told me anything. It is very strange. I don’t like talking about these things or making a big deal out of them, but since we are discussing this and bringing up names, I feel I should speak about my experience too,” she added. Regena also pointed out that several actresses have worked opposite older male actors across industries and questioned why they did not choose to walk out if they were uncomfortable with a particular role. Citing Balakrishna’s films, she said, “Whether you like a film or not, you have every right to say, ‘I don’t want to do this’ and walk out. Create news about walking out of the film. That would be better than sitting and talking about it later. Maybe you were pushed into a situation where you felt you couldn’t do it. I totally understand that. But you are not being raped. I’m sorry, you are not being put in a position where you are completely helpless. Today, there are legal ways of handling these things. Yes, please come forward and talk about it, but do not create a North-South divide. It is very, very bad for the industry,” she said. Janhvi Kapoor addressed the controversy surrounding her portrayal in Peddi during her appearance on Koffee With Karan, alongside Varun Dhawan. Janhvi admitted that she could have been more vigilant and raised her concerns more firmly. She also spoke about not always knowing how scenes would eventually be picturised, as detailed, bound scripts were not necessarily provided. Opening about being objectified in the film, she said, “The reason I was so apprehensive to talk about it was that many people worked hard on that film, and I really didn’t know what to say or if there was anything really to even say because it’s important that I take ownership from my half of…whatever that fiasco was because it weighs heavily on my conscience the sort of negative impact and a narrative like that can have on our society, specific to my gender. I think that shame I will always carry with me. Could have I done more? Could have I been more vigilant? Could have I made a bigger scene? A hundred percent, yes. Was it problematic? Was it extreme objectification? Did it even propagate sexual assault narratively? Yes.” Radhika Apte, meanwhile, recently spoke about her experience working in a Telugu film in which she portrayed a woman married to her maternal uncle and was paired opposite a much older actor. Speaking to Zoom while promoting Akka alongside Keerthy Suresh, she described the experience as challenging and criticised aspects of the role’s patriarchal setting. Although Radhika did not name the film, viewers speculated that she was referring to Boyapati Srinu’s 2014 film Legend, starring Nandamuri Balakrishna.