Madhoo Praises Rashmika Mandanna For Owning Her South Indian Accent On KWK 9; Recalls Being Judged In Bollywood

Madhoo has praised Rashmika Mandanna for confidently embracing her South Indian accent on Koffee With Karan 9. Recalling her own struggles with accent-based judgment in Bollywood, the actor revealed how she worked hard to improve her Hindi and hide her accent.

Actor Madhoo has praised Rashmika Mandanna for embracing her South Indian accent and responding confidently to criticism on Karan Johar's talk show, Koffee With Karan. Recalling her own experiences in Bollywood, Madhoo revealed that she once felt pressured to mask her accent to avoid being judged. The actor shared that she even sought help from an Urdu teacher to improve her Hindi and ensure that her accent did not become a subject of criticism. Applauding Rashmika's confidence, Madhoo said it took her nearly 35 years to reach a point where she could comfortably embrace her linguistic identity.

Madhoo Praises Rashmika Mandanna For Owning Her South Indian Accent

Actor Madhoo has expressed admiration for Rashmika Mandanna's confidence in embracing her South Indian accent on Karan Johar's talk show, Koffee With Karan. In a video shared on Instagram, Madhoo revealed that she watched Rashmika's episode and was particularly impressed by how she responded to criticism surrounding her accent.

Praising the Animal actor for refusing to let the criticism affect her ambitions, Madhoo said, "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 she says, so? I am a South Indian. And I have a South Indian accent. And she's so cool about it." Madhoo also appreciated Rashmika's light-hearted response when discussing her desire to work with Karan Johar. The actor recalled how Rashmika expressed her wish to become a Karan Johar actress while joking that she would be comfortable with a dubbing artist if required.

"And then she says, I have a desire to be a Karan Johar actress and then she laughs and says, but you know what? I'll allow him to use a dubbing artist. And she was so cool about it. And I'm really in love with that," Madhoo said.

While Rashmika has chosen to embrace her linguistic identity, Madhoo revealed that her own experience in Bollywood was different. The actor, who has worked across Hindi and South Indian film industries, admitted that she was once apprehensive about people noticing her South Indian accent while speaking Hindi. Recalling how the fear of being judged influenced her approach to acting, Madhoo explained that she made considerable efforts to improve her Hindi and minimise her accent. She even sought the help of an Urdu teacher to refine her language skills.

"I was so afraid of the South Indian judgments that I was getting, and I thought I would get. And I'd learnt harder and harder. I tried to get a Urdu teacher, and I bettered myself in Hindi. Anything and everything, so that I don't get caught out in an accent," she recalled. Madhoo further revealed that even the slightest indication of her accent would make her uncomfortable, prompting her to work harder on her Hindi pronunciation. She added that she once felt proud when people complimented her Hindi-speaking abilities.

"If anybody even spotted a little bit of an accent in my tone, I would get all flustered, and I would work harder at it. And I felt very proud when people would say that your Hindi is even better than a Hindi-wala," the actor said.

Madhoo Says It Took Her 35 Years To Embrace Her Accent

Reflecting on how her perspective has changed over the years, Madhoo said she is now comfortable embracing her South Indian identity. She explained that she no longer feels the need to be embarrassed if her accent becomes noticeable while speaking Hindi. "And if I do make a mistake in the Hindi language, and if my accent does have that thickness of a South Indian, I'm okay with it. But it took me all of 30 years, 35 years to come here," she said.

Madhoo also had a message of encouragement for Rashmika, applauding the younger actor for embracing her identity without letting criticism undermine her confidence. "And Rashmika, great power to you, girl. I just loved it. That you own it, you laugh about it, and you are really a star," she added.

Rashmika Mandanna On Facing Accent Criticism

Rashmika has previously spoken about facing criticism and online trolling over various aspects of her work, including her performances, language and accent. During her appearance on Koffee With Karan, the actor explained that she never wanted to limit herself to working in just one film industry or speaking a single language.

"Ever since I started working in the film industry, you know, I've been criticised or trolled for one thing or the other, like either my performance, or the language, or the acting, or just the accent, or anything," Rashmika said. Explaining her ambitions, she continued, "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."

Meanwhile, Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda have addressed the backlash surrounding their joint appearance on Koffee With Karan 9. The couple defended their marriage, explained why they took their time before committing to each other, and called out the negativity surrounding their relationship.