Priyamani on being stereotyped as south actor in Bollywood: 'Might not be as fair and sparkling white as...'

Priyamani said south Indian actors can speak Hindi 'quite fluently' and should not be cast as only 'south Indian characters' in Bollywood films.

Priyamani has opened up about the 'south actor' tag. In an interview with Pinkvilla, she spoke about the response to her recent Hindi film Article 370, as well as the challenges she faces as an actor, who works predominantly in the south. She said south Indian actors 'might not be as fair and sparkling white as the ladies' in Bollywood, but they were 'as good-looking as anybody else'.

Priyamani works in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films.

When asked if she's faced stereotypes in Hindi films, because she started her acting career with Telugu and Tamil cinema, Priyamani, who was seen in Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan, said, “Yeah, sometimes they (Bollywood filmmakers) will say 'Oh because it is a south Indian character, we want to cast you'. I hope that changes soon."

'We are as good-looking as anybody else'

Priyamani added, "See, even though we are from south India, I think we can speak the language (Hindi) quite fluently, we are as good-looking as anybody else. Probably our skin type might not be as fair and sparkling white as the ladies here (Bollywood), but I don’t think that should matter. As I said, girls from the south, or men from the south, everybody from the south knows the language; they can speak it (Hindi) quite fluently, albeit maybe the grammar can go a little here and there, but that should not matter as long as the emotions are being portrayed... I think now the thing of north and south should change. We are always Indian actors.”

Priyamani works in a still from Article 370.

Her career

Priyamani works in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films. She made her acting debut with the 2003 Telugu film Evare Atagaadu. She gained widespread recognition for her role in the Tamil film Paruthiveeran (2007), receiving a National Film Award for Best Actress and a Filmfare Award for Best Actress in Tamil.

Her other notable projects include Raam (2009), Raavan (2010), Raavanan (2010), Pranchiyettan and the Saint (2010), Chaarulatha (2012) and Idolle Ramayana (2016), among many others. She is also seen on the Manoj Bajpayee series The Family Man, and has played supporting roles in the action film Jawan (2023) and Yami Gautam-starrer Article 370 (2024). Priyamani is gearing up for the release of her next film, Maidaan, co-starring Ajay Devgn.

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