Actress Madhoo has publicly praised Rashmika Mandanna for confidently embracing her South Indian accent, saying she admired the younger star's poise in handling criticism. Madhoo's remarks came via a video she shared on social media as part of her 'I Am in Love' series, following Rashmika's appearance on filmmaker Karan Johar's talk show 'Koffee with Karan', where the topic of accent and trolling came up.

What Madhoo Said

'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 in the video.

She also opened up about her own decades-long struggle with self-acceptance, revealing that she spent years trying to mask her South Indian roots after entering Hindi cinema. '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's 35-Year Journey to Self-Acceptance

Madhoo described a mindset that many South Indian actors working in Bollywood have reportedly experienced — an anxiety around linguistic identity. '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,' she recalled.

She added that it took her 30 to 35 years to reach a point of comfort. '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,' she said, before directly addressing Rashmika: 'Great power to you, girl! I just loved that you own it, laugh about it, and you are truly a star.'

Javed Akhtar Also Weighs In

Madhoo's support follows remarks by veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar, who also publicly defended Rashmika over criticism of her Hindi pronunciation. 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.'

What Rashmika Said on Koffee with Karan

The broader conversation was sparked by Rashmika's own remarks on the show, where she addressed the trolling she has faced over her accent, language, and performances. Explaining her position, she said: '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.'

Notably, the debate around regional accents in Hindi cinema is not new — actors from the South, East, and Northeast have long spoken about navigating linguistic bias in Bollywood. Rashmika's matter-of-fact response, and the wave of solidarity it has drawn from contemporaries and veterans alike, signals a visible shift in how the industry and its audiences are beginning to engage with the question of cultural identity on screen.

With two major industry voices now backing Rashmika's stance, the conversation is expected to continue as the actress remains one of the most prominent crossover stars working across Hindi and Telugu cinema today.