Actor Madhoo, who has acted in all South Indian languages and Hindi, spoke up in support of Rashmika Mandanna owning her accent on Karan Johar’s talk show, Koffee With Karan. Recalling feeling judged for the same when she worked in Bollywood, the actor stated that it took her over 30 years to be comfortable with her accent, as Rashmika is today. In a video posted on her Instagram, Madhoo also stated that she had to work extra hard to mask her accent when working in Hindi films.
Madhoo in love with Rashmika Mandanna owning accent
In a long video posted on her Instagram, Madhoo remarked that she watched Rashmika’s KWK episode. “The way she dealt with her accent, criticism, I just loved it. She laughs about it, she accepts it, she owns it. Calls herself a South Indian. And she says, so? I am a South Indian. And I have a South Indian accent. And she’s so cool about it,” she said, adding, “And then she says, I have a desire to be a Karan Johar actress and then she laughs and says, but you know what? I’ll allow him to use a dubbing artist. And she was so cool about it. And I’m really in love with that.”
Deep Dive
Why did Madhoo praise Rashmika Mandanna for owning her South Indian accent?
How did Madhoo respond to accent-related judgment in Bollywood?
What did Rashmika Mandanna say about criticism of her Hindi accent?
Recalls feeling judged over her accent in Bollywood
Madhoo also stated that, years ago, when she acted in Hindi films, she felt judged. But it also meant that she worked hard to mask it. “I was so afraid of the South Indian judgments that I was getting, and I thought I would get. And I’d learnt harder and harder. I tried to get a Urdu teacher, and I bettered myself in Hindi. Anything and everything, so that I don’t get caught out in an accent. If anybody even spotted a little bit of an accent in my tone, I would get all flustered, and I would work harder at it. And I felt very proud when people would say that your Hindi is even better than a Hindi-wala.”
{{/usCountry}}Madhoo also stated that, years ago, when she acted in Hindi films, she felt judged. But it also meant that she worked hard to mask it. “I was so afraid of the South Indian judgments that I was getting, and I thought I would get. And I’d learnt harder and harder. I tried to get a Urdu teacher, and I bettered myself in Hindi. Anything and everything, so that I don’t get caught out in an accent. If anybody even spotted a little bit of an accent in my tone, I would get all flustered, and I would work harder at it. And I felt very proud when people would say that your Hindi is even better than a Hindi-wala.”
{{/usCountry}}She stated that while that’s what her journey was like, she’s proud to say she’s a South Indian today. “And if I do make a mistake in the Hindi language, and if my accent does have that thickness of a South Indian, I’m okay with it. But it took me all of 30 years, 35 years to come here. And Rashmika, great power to you, girl. I just loved it. That you own it, you laugh about it, and you are really a star,” said Madhoo.
Rashmika Mandanna on her South Indian accent
Criticism has followed Rashmika since the beginning of her career in Bollywood, particularly over her Kodava Takk accent coming through while speaking Hindi. When asked about it on KWK, she said, “Ever since I started working in the film industry, you know, I've been criticised or trolled for one thing or the other, like either my performance, or the language, or the acting, or just the accent, or anything. So for me, I never wanted to sort of put a barrier for myself. I didn't want to just work in one industry. I wanted to work in them all. I didn't want to speak just one language. I wanted to speak all languages.”
Madhoo most recently starred in the Malayalam film Chinna Chinna Aasai and the Hindi film Governor. Rashmika last starred in Ranabaali in Telugu and Cocktail 2 in Hindi.
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