I support Janhvi Kapoor. Don’t cause mental distress’: Jagapathi Babu on Peddi backlash

Actor Jagapathi Babu has broken his silence over the controversy surrounding Janhvi Kapoor’s role in the Telugu film Skinscoming out firmly in the actress’s defence and urging audiences to stop targeting her over creative decisions that were not hers to make.

Ever since the film’s release, critics and a section of the audience have called Janhvi’s role in it vulgar and overtly glamorous. When asked about the same, Jagpathi Babu, in an interview with a Telugu YouTube channel, came in support of the Bollywood actress.

‘Don’t go after the actor’

Jagapathi Babu, who plays the pivotal role of Appalasori in the film, was unequivocal in his support. “She has done whatever the director has asked her to do, and sometimes things misfire. But all I say is don’t target the actor. It’s unfair to go after that girl. We don’t know what her personal views were or whether she agreed with every creative decision,” he said.

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He added that actors, by nature of their profession, place their trust in a director’s vision. “When an actor signs on and trusts a director’s vision, they follow that vision. We do what the director tells us. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

Babu also appealed directly to viewers, asking them to redirect their criticism at the film rather than the individuals in it. “If you like or dislike the film, comment on the film. But don’t single out an artist, troll them, or cause them mental distress,” he said.

A role that sparked outrage

Janhvi’s appearance in Skins — directed by Buchi Babu Sana — drew sharp criticism from fans and critics alike, who called her character overtly glamorous and lacking agency. The role was seen as reducing the actress to eye candy, with little narrative purpose beyond spectacle.

The Federal‘s own review captured the sentiment bluntly, noting that in Buchi Babu Sana’s cinematic world, a woman is treated as respectable only after marriage — before that, she exists to entertain, even in front of her own father. “In the Buchi Babu Sana universe, a woman becomes respectable and deserving of modesty only once she is married. Before the knot, she is eye candy — available for an item number with the hero, performed with her own father watching from the audience,” reads the review.

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The backlash was significant enough that several of the contentious scenes were subsequently deleted from the film, with the director apologizing for the issue.

Box-office tells another story

Despite the controversy, Skins appears to be holding its own at the box office. The film has reportedly earned Rs 314 crore in just five days of release, suggesting that audience curiosity has not kept viewers away. Directed by Buchi Babu Sana, who previously helmed the acclaimed Uppena.

Whether the commercial success will quieten the conversation around the film’s treatment of its female lead remains to be seen. For now, Jagapathi Babu’s words offer Janhvi Kapoor a rare moment of solidarity from within the industry.