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Mumbai: Actor Taapsee Pannu has said audiences must play a bigger role in challenging the objectification of women in cinema, arguing that the industry often uses the “demand and supply” argument to justify portrayals that reduce female characters to their appearance.

In an interview with Zoom TV, Taapsee said the responsibility for changing the way women are represented on screen cannot rest only with actors and filmmakers. She pointed towards audience behaviour on social media, where images and videos focusing on women’s physical appearance are frequently circulated and amplified.

Taapsee questions the audience’s role

Taapsee observed that even when viewers criticise a particular portrayal of women, the same images can continue to gain traction online.

She said some people pick up such pictures, zoom in on them or use “weird angles” in videos and images, helping the content become viral.

“So, there is an audience for that on social media,” she said.

According to Taapsee, this creates a difficult cycle for the film industry. While audiences may object to the objectification of women in movies, their engagement with similar content online can also signal commercial demand to filmmakers.

She said the industry often responds to criticism by claiming that it is simply giving audiences what they want.

“People think ki janta maang rahi hai toh humko dena chahiye (People think if the audience wants this, we should deliver), how else will we earn money?” Taapsee said.

‘Art takes a back seat’

Taapsee argued that this approach can ultimately affect the quality of filmmaking itself.

“So art takes a back seat; craft takes a back seat,” she said.

The actor also reflected on the evolution of Indian cinema in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic. She felt the industry had made considerable progress during that period and was “catching up with the best”.

However, she believes that progress has slowed again.

Taapsee said filmmakers often end up putting the responsibility on audiences, while actors have not always been able to effectively challenge that argument.

“And all the makers will blame the audience, and that’s where we all actors fail to give a comeback,” she said.

‘Only the audience has to help us win it’

For Taapsee, changing the portrayal of women therefore requires audiences to become part of the solution.

She stressed that actors and filmmakers cannot win the battle on their own if there continues to be strong demand for content that objectifies women.

“That’s a battle we will lose, and only the audience has to help us win it,” she said.

Her comments come amid a broader debate over the representation of women in mainstream Indian cinema and the way female characters are presented through camera work, costumes, romantic sequences and promotional material.

Debate over Peddi and Toxic

The discussion has gained attention following criticism surrounding films such as Ram Charan’s Peddi and Yash’s Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups.

Janhvi Kapoor’s portrayal in Peddi faced criticism on social media, with some viewers objecting to what they described as the hypersexualisation of her character. Camera work, romantic scenes and the focus on her physical appearance became part of the backlash.

The criticised portions were subsequently removed, while director Buchi Babu Sana apologised amid the controversy.

Toxic also faced questions over its portrayal of women even before its theatrical release. After the film reached cinemas, criticism continued, with some viewers arguing that its female characters were presented primarily through glamour and sensuality and in relation to the male protagonist.

Taapsee’s remarks add another dimension to the debate by placing part of the responsibility on audiences and examining how social media engagement can influence the kind of content that gets attention.

Taapsee’s latest project

On the work front, Taapsee was recently seen in Netflix’s Gandhari, an action thriller directed by Devashish Makhija.

The film also features Ishwak Singh, Chhaya Kadam, Swastika Mukherjee and Mita Vashisht. The project has added another action-oriented role to Taapsee’s filmography, following several performances in intense and dramatic stories.

Her latest comments, meanwhile, have shifted the conversation towards a question that extends beyond individual films: whether audiences can influence the industry’s approach to representing women by changing the content they engage with, share and amplify.