Madhoo praises Rashmika Mandanna for owning her South Indian accent, recalls her own struggles
Actress Madhoo has praised Rashmika Mandanna for confidently embracing her South Indian accent despite facing criticism over her Hindi pronunciation. Recalling her own experiences in the Hindi film industry, Madhoo revealed that it took her more than three decades to feel equally comfortable with her linguistic identity.
In a video shared on social media as part of her 'I Am in Love' series, Madhoo reflected on Rashmika's recent appearance on filmmaker Karan Johar's talk show 'Koffee with Karan'. She expressed admiration for the way the actress addressed criticism of her accent without feeling the need to defend or change it.
“I recently saw Rashmika Mandanna's show ‘Koffee with Karan’, and 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 says, ‘So, I am a South Indian and I have a South Indian accent.’ And she's so cool about it and I am really in love with that,” Madhoo said.
The actress then spoke about the pressure she faced during her early years in Bollywood, when she feared being judged for her South Indian background. She admitted that she had gone to great lengths to improve her Hindi and conceal any traces of her native accent.
“Many, many years ago, when I became a Hindi film actor, I was so afraid of the judgements I was getting, and thought I would get, for being a South Indian. I worked harder and harder. I tried to get an Urdu teacher and bettered myself in Hindi, doing anything and everything so that I wouldn’t get caught out because of my accent.”
Madhoo said even the slightest indication of a South Indian accent would make her uncomfortable, prompting her to work harder on her pronunciation. While she once considered it an achievement to be praised for speaking Hindi better than native speakers, her perspective has changed over the years.
“If anybody even spotted a little bit of an accent in my tone, I would get all flustered and work harder at it. I felt very proud when people would say that my Hindi was even better than that of a Hindi speaker. That was my journey. Today, I am so proud to say that I am a South Indian. If I make a mistake in Hindi or my accent has the thickness of a South Indian, I am okay with it. But it took me 30 to 35 years to get here,” said Madhoo.
Appreciating Rashmika for displaying that confidence much earlier in her career, Madhoo added, “Rashmika, great power to you, girl! I just loved that you own it, laugh about it, and you are truly a star.”
She also reiterated her admiration for the actress in the caption accompanying the video.
“I am proud to be a South Indian with the south Indian accent and I it took me 30 years to get here but Rashmika you’re already there and I I love that about you in the recent interview I saw of Yours so great power to you and stay the star that you are ...”
Madhoo is not the only film industry personality to defend Rashmika over the issue. Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar had earlier criticised those mocking the actress's pronunciation, questioning the attitude of linguistic superiority behind such remarks.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, Akhtar wrote, “Those who have any problem with the pronunciation of Tamil actor Rashmika should be given a few lines of Tamil which is the oldest spoken language in the world and let's see how well they pronounce Tamil. This fake and baseless linguistic superiority is not acceptable.”
The debate began after Rashmika discussed the criticism she had received over her accent, language and acting performances during her appearance on 'Koffee with Karan'.
Responding to those who questioned her Hindi pronunciation, the actress maintained that having a South Indian accent was natural given where she came from.
“I particularly didn't have an issue with that because they said I had a South Indian accent, but I am from the South of India. So I am going to have an accent. It's unreasonable to think otherwise.”