Kayadu Lohar reveals what it's like to fight back against objectification in cinema: ‘Most difficult conversation’

Immortal actor Kayadu Lohar was asked about a scene that objectifies her in her recent release, Immortal. Here's how she responded.

Actor Kayadu Lohar recently starred in the creature film Immortal with GV Prakash Kumar. The film, directed by Mariyappan Chinna, received lukewarm reviews from critics and audiences alike. On Sudhir Srinivasan’s YouTube channel, Kayadu was asked about being objectified in a scene from the film. Here’s how she responded.

Kayadu Lohar says filmmakers brush off objectification as something the audience wants.

Kayadu Lohar not okay with objectification

Kayadu was asked about how scenes in Immortal objectify her and how it makes her feel as an actor. She agreed there are a lot of films that show women similarly, saying, “I am definitely not okay about only objectifying. But if I feel like the character, it’s what it demands, it’s convincing enough for me, and for the story, then I think it’s okay with me to a certain point. But, I don’t like the idea of only objectifying women in the film, and just being there for the part. So, you know, you might gain attention, and you might gain a lot of fame. It might trend on Instagram, but I am not comfortable with that idea. And I don’t think so, I will never be okay or say yes to something like that.”

Says fighting against objectification is difficult

When the host pointed out that there are rarely any characters who demand to be shown the way female leads are in commercial cinema, Kayadu agreed. She spoke about what it’s like behind the scenes and said, “It’s the most difficult conversation to have. And yet, you feel like you’re the only one person fighting for it. And the others are just like, no, this is how it’s done. I think you need to stand your ground, and it’s high time for everyone to understand. Because there’s a film that got backlash for how the woman was portrayed. So, I think now, audiences are also being…In the beginning, they had a reason to say, this is what the audience loves. This is the conversation that they have. There are part of audiences that do enjoy. But largely now, the audience is changing their point of view about how the woman is shown in the film.”

While she did not take names, many on X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube pointed out that Kayadu might be referring to Buchi Babu Sana’s Ram Charan-starrer Peddi, which faced backlash for the way it portrayed Janhvi Kapoor’s character. Not only was her character objectified, but it was also assaulted in two different scenes. The makers removed the scenes two weeks after their release and claimed it was never their intention to objectify her. Kayadu now has The Paradise, Thaaram, Manjanaththi and Suriya 48 lined up. She starred in Funky, Pallichattambi, Idhayam Murali, and I’m Game this year.