CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar came out in support of actor Rashmika Mandanna amid social media trolling over her Hindi pronunciation and South Indian accent. He criticised those who mock someone on the basis of language and pronunciation. However, Javed Akhtar himself came under criticism on social media after referring to Rashmika as a “Tamil actress” in his post. He later accepted his mistake and apologised.
What did Javed Akhtar say in Rashmika’s support? Javed Akhtar wrote on social media platform X that those who have a problem with Rashmika’s pronunciation should be given a few lines in Tamil to speak, so it can be seen whether they themselves can pronounce them correctly. He described the mindset of showing superiority on the basis of language as inappropriate.
His response was aimed at opposing the criticism of the actor linked to language and accent. Several social media users also supported his stand.
Why did he face criticism for calling her a “Tamil actress”? In his post, Javed Akhtar had described Rashmika as a Tamil actress. Users corrected him, pointing out that Rashmika belongs to the Kodagu region of Karnataka and has worked in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films. Telugu cinema has played a major role in her film career.
People on social media said that while speaking on language and regional identity, it is also important to give correct information. In this way, a post made in support of Rashmika started a fresh debate over her linguistic identity.
Javed Akhtar apologised after the criticism. He accepted that calling Rashmika a Tamil actress was his mistake. He said he does not know the actor personally and had seen one of her films that was in Tamil. He clarified that the issue was not about Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam, but about respecting the pronunciation of anyone speaking any language.
He also asked how people would feel if an English person mocked the English pronunciation of Indians.
Rashmika had also raised the issue. Rashmika Mandanna recently said during a conversation with her husband Vijay Deverakonda in the ninth season of “Koffee With Karan” that since the beginning of her career, she has faced criticism over acting, language and pronunciation. She said she does not want to be limited to any one film industry or language and wants to work in different languages. The entire controversy has once again triggered discussion on language, regional identity and the online trolling faced by artists in the entertainment industry.
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