Koffee With Karan 9: Rashmika Mandanna on being criticised for her South Indian accent in Hindi cinema, “I am from South of India, I am going to have an accent”
Rashmika Mandanna has addressed the criticism she has faced over her South Indian accent in Hindi cinema, saying she never considered it a problem because it was a part of her identity. In an episode of Koffee With Karan Season 9, the actor spoke to host Karan Johar about the comments surrounding her accent, her decision to work across film industries and her approach to choosing diverse roles.
During the conversation, Karan asked Rashmika whether the criticism surrounding her accent in Hindi films had bothered her. Responding to the question, she said, “I particularly didn’t have an issue with that because they said I had a South Indian accent, but I’m from the South of India. So I am going to have an accent.”
The actor further explained that she had always been willing to work across industries and learn different languages. Since the beginning of her career, she has faced both criticism and praise for various aspects of her performances, including her acting, language and accent. However, she said she never wanted these opinions to become barriers to the opportunities she pursued.
“Ever since I started working in the film industry, I’ve been criticized or praised 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. And so very early on in my career, I started doing all kinds of films,” she said.
Rashmika also spoke about dubbing for herself in different languages. She revealed that she regularly gave her directors the option of having another artist dub for her if they preferred, but they chose to retain her voice.
“Every film that I’m a part of, of course, I go and give this option to my directors, saying I’m not the one who’s going to feel bad if you want to dub with someone else, you know? But none of my directors actually wanted to dub with someone else. They wanted me to dub for myself,” she said.
Calling it a matter of pride, Rashmika acknowledged the effort involved in dubbing her own performances in multiple languages. She added that being able to do so gave her satisfaction as an actor.
Beyond the discussion around her accent, Rashmika also spoke about her choice of roles, pointing to the contrasting characters she has portrayed in films such as Pushpa, The Girlfriend and Ananya. She said she appreciated playing different kinds of characters and wanted her filmography to reflect that range.
“So today, when I am a part of a brilliant film like Ananya, and The Girlfriend, it gives me great satisfaction as an actor, you know? Because I’m like, I’m able to play them all,” she said.
For Rashmika, working across languages and taking on contrasting roles has been a conscious decision. As she explained to Karan Johar, rather than allowing criticism of her accent to restrict her choices, she has continued to explore opportunities across industries while embracing her linguistic identity.
The post Koffee With Karan 9: Rashmika Mandanna on being criticised for her South Indian accent in Hindi cinema, “I am from South of India, I am going to have an accent” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.