Madhoo backs Rashmika Mandanna over South Indian accent criticism; says ‘own it, girl’

Following veteran screenwriter and lyricist Javed Akhtar, actress Madhoo shared her support for Rashmika Mandanna after the ‘Ranabaali’ actress spoke about facing criticism for her South Indian accent. Madhoo praised Rashmika for accepting her identity with confidence and said she loved the way the actress handled the criticism.In a video shared on her Instagram handle, Madhoo spoke about watching Rashmika’s appearance on ‘Koffee with Karan’. She said Rashmika’s response to the comments about her accent impressed her.

Madhoo supports Rashmika Mandanna

“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.

Madhoo talks about her struggles in Bollywood

Madhoo also recalled how she felt when she began working in Hindi cinema. She said she was afraid of being judged for being a South Indian and worked hard to improve her Hindi pronunciation.“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,” she said.Madhoo said she once felt proud when people complimented her Hindi, but her perspective has changed over the years. She now embraces her identity and is comfortable with her South Indian accent.

“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,” Madhoo said.Praising Rashmika for reaching that level of confidence early in her career, she added, “Rashmika, great power to you, girl! I just loved that you own it, laugh about it, and you are truly a star.”On Sunday, Javed Akhtar also defended Rashmika amid criticism of her Hindi pronunciation through his X post.During her appearance on Koffee with Karan, Rashmika Mandanna explained why she did not consider her South Indian accent a problem. “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,” she said.

Rashmika Mandanna’s upcoming work

On the work front, Rashmika Mandanna was last seen in the period action drama film ‘Ranabaali’ starring alongside her husband Vijay Deverakonda.She is currently working on her next action thriller ‘Mysaa’ and is also part of Allu Arjun and Atlee’s upcoming grand sci-fi film ‘Raaka’ which features Deepika Padukone as the female lead.