Female consent has long been treated as a negligible option in Indian cinema. The debate has once again caught steam with the release of Ram Charan's Peddi, which gives its leading lady, Janhvi Kapoor, the same kind of treatment. Many mainstream Indian films, especially from the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, have more than often disregarded consent, pursuing after rejection, stalking, coercion, and treating "no" as a challenge rather than a boundary. Here are some Indian films which clearly took female consent for granted.
Updated On: 2026-06-04 11:03 PM IST
Compiled by : Amarylisa Gonsalves
Kabir Singh
There are multiple instances where Kabir (Shahid Kapoor) forces himself in Preeti's (Kiara Advani) life despite her reluctance. One of the scenes is where Kabir publicly declares Preeti "his girl" in college without her consent and dictates who can interact with her.
Dil se...
Amar (Shah Rukh Khan) repeatedly pursues Meghna (Manisha Koirala), follows her, and inserts himself into her life despite her rejections, romanticising the idea of relentless pursuit.
Toilet: Ek Prem Katha
The first half of the film features the male lead, Akshay Kumar, stalking the female lead, Bhumi Pednekkar, secretly taking photos of her on his phone without her permission, and even setting up a camera to film her.
Pokiri
Multiple scenes involve the hero, Pandu (Mahesh Babu), harassing Shruti (Ileana D'Cuz) as a form of flirting. Harassment was normalised like breathing.
Animal
While the film includes multiple instances of consent taken for granted, one of the most memorable one is when Abrar (Bobby Deol) after he fatally attacks a messenger and sexually assaults the youngest of his wives while brandishing a weapon.
Raanjhanaa
Kundan (Dhanush) repeatedly follows Zoya (Sonam Kapoor) throughout her school and college years despite her lack of interest. His unwanted persistence after rejection is glorified as romantic devotion.
Darr
Rahul (Shah Rukh Khan) stalks Kiran (Juhi Chawla), calls her obsessively, and invades her privacy. The iconic song from the film, 'Tu haa kar ya naa kar, tu hai meri Kiran', itself doesn't care about her consent.
R...Rajkumar
Rajkumar (Shahid Kapoor) relentlessly follows Chanda (Sonakshi Sinha), with several interactions framed as playful despite her resistance. 'Tease-until-she-falls-for-you' is not funny or romantic.
Baahubali: The Beginning
The film has a scene where Prabhas' character is seen stripping Tamannaah Bhatia's character, despite her resistence, in order to make her aware of her feminine side.
Tere Naam
Radhe (Salman Khan) and his friends repeatedly harass Nirjara (Bhumika Chawla) before she eventually develops feelings for him. Harassment is displayed as courtship.
7G Rainbow Colony
This cult classic Tamil film has the protagonist aggressively following, harassing, and emotionally blackmailing the female lead until she breaks down and reciprocates out of sheer exhaustion.
Peddi
A scene involving Ram Charan's character forcibly kissing Janhvi Kapoor's character when the lights go off has sparked debate. Despite her crying after the kiss, the scene has been portrayed as an expression of love.