In a recent interview with India Today, Tamil film actress Regena Cassandrra weighed in on an important issue. When asked to respond to Janhvi Kapoor and Radhika Apte's recent comments on navigating patriarchy and objectification in their work in Telugu cinema, Cassandrra emphasised the need to avoid framing the issue as a North-versus-South debate. Kapoor recently called out her experience in Ram Charan's Telugu film Peddi as deeply objectifying in a latest episode of Karan Johar's Koffee With Karan Season 9.
The Tamil film actress went on to expand on the base-level differences between the North and the South. "I don't think either of them are in a place where they can't make a decision. It's valid that Janhvi pointed out how she wasn't given a bound script. You usually get a scene you're supposed to act out only at 6 am that morning of the shoot. But some films provide you with all the scenes. In Bombay, things are much more organised. The call sheet will have all the details of the shoot, including scene and technician details," Cassandrra said.
Kapoor could've said no to the film and made that news, she added. "You have every right to say no and walk out of the film. Create news by walking out of the film. I understand that you may have been pushed to a place where you couldn't say no. But please don't create the North-South divide because for South Indian actors like me, it's even worse. I already face stigma when I go to the North because I am a South Indian actress."
The actress then went on to expand with a personal example. "Janhvi Kapoor has spoken about being objectified in a Telugu film in Karan Johar's show. The same Karan Johar, whose Dharma Productions film I acted in, has decided not to promote me in Kesari 2. My name was dropped from the promotions without any explanation. They released a song featuring me but did not even tag me. What am I supposed to call this?" she said.
Cassandrra played Parvathy Nair, the wife of Akshay Kumar's Sankaran Nair, in Kesari Chapter 2: The Untold Story of Jallianwala Bagh (2025). It remains unclear why she was left out of the film's promotions, Cassandrra added. "Janhvi Kapoor is in a comfortable space speaking about this. And it's important for women to feel comfortable enough to speak about these issues. But who is going to ask me about Dharma Productions not promoting me?"
Cassandrra will next be seen in Sundar C and Nayanthara's devotional Tamil film Mookuthi Amman 2, headed for a November 6 release.