Janhvi Kapoor has recently voiced strong criticism against the "voyeuristic nature" of the media, particularly concerning the coverage of deaths and personal tragedies. Speaking at the 'We The Women 2025' event on Sunday, the actress addressed the increasing moral decline in journalism and online platforms.
Kapoor reflected on the profound personal impact of losing her mother, the iconic actress Sridevi, in 2018. She described the experience as "horrible," especially as she witnessed her grief and loss being reduced to memes on social media. Kapoor stated, "It was horrible when I lost my mom. I don't know if you all can imagine what it's like to lose someone that close to you and see it become a meme". She confessed that she still struggles to articulate the emotions she experienced during that period.
The actress admitted that she often avoids publicly discussing her mother's death to avoid giving the impression that she is trying to gain attention or sympathy. "I'm always conscious about sounding like I'm saying things to get you all to feel bad for me," she explained. "And so I always refrain a little bit because I know everyone is opportunistic in nature, and everyone just wants a headline. And I would hate if I ever sounded like I was using such a painful part of my life and my relationship with my mother for a headline, so I think that always holds me back".
Kapoor extended her criticism to the media's coverage of veteran actor Dharmendra's death, which was falsely reported prior to his actual passing on November 24, 2025. She sees this incident as a continuation of a disturbing trend. "We saw what happened with Dharamji and it's happened repeatedly before that. I'm sure it will only get worse," Kapoor stated.
Kapoor didn't solely blame the media, but also pointed out that celebrities contribute to the problem by sharing content that encourages engagement through views, likes, and comments. She argued that this creates a cycle where sensationalism and voyeurism are incentivized. Kapoor stated that "every time we give such videos or headlines views, comments, likes, we incentivise this culture".
The actress lamented the decline in human morality, stating that "The voyeuristic nature of journalism, of media culture, of social media today, has singlehandedly contributed to the complete derailment of human morality, and I'm seeing it more and more every day". She expressed concern that society has lost the "consciousness" that once prevented people from indulging in such practices. Kapoor described this loss of morality as a "modern-day crisis" and said she finds it "depressing".
