After Javed Akhtar, actress Madhoo has extended her support to Rashmika Mandanna over online backlash for her Hindi pronunciation and South Indian accent.
Mandanna had opened up about the trolling during her recent appearance on Karan Johar’s Koffee With Karan Season 9.
Madhoo shared a video on her Instagram handle backing the actress.
“Hi everyone, in the ‘I am in love series’, the next one is dropping right now. I recently watched Rashmika Mandanna’s episode on Koffee With Karan and the way she dealt with her accent criticism, I just loved it,” the actress said in the video.
“She laughs about it, she accepts it, she owns it. I am a South Indian, and I have the South Indian accent, and she is so cool about it. And then she says I have a desire to be a Karan Johar actor, and then she laughs and says, ‘But you know what, I will allow him to use the dubbing artist.’ She was so cool about it,” Madhoo added.
The actress, who is also South Indian, recalled when she stepped into the acting industry and said she was afraid of the judgement.
“I got an Urdu teacher, and I bettered myself in Hindi and anything and everything so that I don't get caught out in an accent. If anyone spotted even a bit of accent in my tone, I would get all flustered, and I would work harder at it. I felt very proud when people would say, ‘Your Hindi is better than every Hindi wala.’”
“So that was my journey, but today I am so proud to say I am a South Indian, and if I do make a mistake in the Hindi language and if my accent does have a thickness of a South Indian, I am ok with it, but it took me all of 30 years to come here,” she added.
“I am proud to be a South Indian with the South Indian accent, and it took me 30 years to get here, but Rashmika, you’re already there, and 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 signed off.
Mandanna was a guest on the latest episode of Koffee With Karan alongside her husband and fellow actor, Vijay Deverakonda. She recently starred alongside Vijay in Ranabaali, a period drama set against the backdrop of British colonial rule.