Should Female Actors boycott Tollywood ?

Though Tollywood bring the big guns out in terms of box office numbers, star power and grandeur, the industry is set back in portraying their female leads with dignity.

Tamannah in Bahubali

The biggest Indian film, Bahubali starring Prabhas, also had scenes with the lead actor objectifying his female co-star Tamannah and an item number with the star coddling courtiers in a medieval tavern. The films that caused a stir across the country like Pushpa and Ala Vaikuntapuramlo starring Allu Arjun also had inappropriate male gazing and glorified stalking scenes.

Though critics and audience have been remarking these scenes as distasteful on social media, the Telugu filmmakers, production houses and male stars have turned a deaf ear to this feedback including the actors in question.

Rashmika Mandanna and Allu Arjun in Pushpa

With the latest spat between Jahnvi Kapoor and filmmaker Buchi Babu Sana with regard to the classless camera angles imposed on the actor despite her protests for the film Peddi, has triggered film audience across the country. The filmmaker rushed to edit those scenes as a half-baked apology to pacify the public.

Though this accusation has reached mainstream news media, there has been no public support extended to the actor from the film fraternity. Jahnvi being perceived as a star kid could be a reason for the lack of support from her friends from the industry, fearing a nepotism backlash.

Jahni Kapoor and Ram Charan in Peddi

Tollywood filmmakers objectifying women to target rural audience has been the unspoken statement underneath these controversies. Since the same films with problematic male behaviour is hailed at the box office, moral grounds have been ignored for decades by the Telugu film industry.

The audience watching their favourite stars behaving inappropriately with their female leads while masquerading as their hero, disembovels cultural decree, causes confusion among the youth on masculinity, patronises male bravado and uses it as a giant eraser on decade-long movements around women empowerment.

Should female leads boycott Telugu until filmmakers make a genuine attempt to portray them with dignity?