At the time of its release, director Buchi Babu Sana's Peddi, starring Ram Charan and Janhvi Kapoor in the lead roles, courted criticism not only for its narrative but also for the portrayal of the female lead role. Several critics called out the treatment of Janhvi's character in the film, calling it 'vulgar' and 'crass'. The latest to criticise it is actor Aditi Balan.

In a conversation with Cine X, Aditi said, "I watched one film recently called Peddi. I am thinking why would they write a character such as Janhvi Kapoor's character which is so wrong." Aditi added that the makers of the film could have written it differently and made it slightly more interesting with "something for her to do" in it rather than "just come, dance and go".

Aditi Balan's comments came as part of a conversation about the evolution of female characters in Indian cinema. Aditi said that the success of the Samantha Ruth Prabhu starrer Maa Inti Bangaram is a "great" sign of audiences' acceptance for female stars doing stunts onscreen. Aditi noted that films from a distant past, such as Balu Mahendra's works, had excellent female characters and that these roles were reduced to "love interest" types only in the in-between period.

Aditi plays a character named Padmavathi in GDN, directed by Krishnakumar Ramakumar and co-starring R Madhavan. Her upcoming films include 666 Operation Dream Theater, with Shivarajkumar and Dhananjay, Non-Violence, and Bouma.

Coming back to Peddi, Buchi Babu Sana has acknowledged the criticism for the portrayal of Janhvi's character in his film after receiving flak for it. Clarifying that it was not his intention to disrespect or objectify the film's female characters, he added, "We have always had immense respect for women, both on and off screen."