An industry debate gets a new voice
The running argument over Hindi and South Indian film sets has added another participant. Regina Cassandra has responded to earlier remarks by Radhika Apte and Janhvi Kapoor, both of whom described difficult experiences while working in Southern films. Apte said actresses were sometimes expected to accept roles and situations without questioning them; Kapoor pointed to pressure around certain on-screen pairings and the types of parts offered to women.
Agency before the camera rolls
Regina’s central counter is about choice. In a recent interview, she said established actors know a project’s basic storyline, their character and the film’s overall theme before signing on. If a script or something on set makes them uncomfortable, she argued, they can refuse the project or walk away. To suggest an actor has no choice once production begins, she said, is not a fair reading of how decisions are made.
That position shifts the question from what happens on set to what was agreed before the set. It is a familiar fault line in the industry: whether a performer’s safety and creative boundaries are personal responsibilities or the production’s obligation.
Two production rhythms
She also separated the working styles of the two industries. Hindi films, in her account, generally follow strict call sheets and shooting schedules. South Indian productions can be more flexible: certain scenes and arrangements are worked out on the day. Each rhythm has consequences, and neither automatically means better or worse treatment for an actor.
Her own Bollywood wound
Regina then turned the argument toward Hindi cinema. Citing Kesari 2, she said Dharma Productions left her out of promotional activities and song credits even though she played Akshay Kumar’s wife. It is a specific, named grievance that sits uncomfortably alongside the film’s visibility and the production house’s profile.
Her conclusion is not that one industry is cleaner than the other. It is that uncomfortable situations occur in Bollywood too, and that they should be addressed individually rather than used to paint an entire industry in a negative light.
What to watch
For readers who follow Hindi cinema, the exchange matters because it is about more than three actors. It lands at a moment when pan-India casting and bilingual releases make the old boundaries between industries thinner than ever. A complaint from one set culture quickly becomes an argument about another.
Three takeaways from Regina’s position:
- An actor signs with knowledge of the story, character and theme.
- Hindi productions lean on call sheets; South sets can be more day-of flexible.
- Exclusion and discomfort exist across industries, not in one geography.
The question now is whether the next round will continue to trade broad generalisations or settle into specific cases and specific accountability.
Source: Deccan Chronicle
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