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IS IT SOUTH FILM INDUSTRY VS BOLLYWOOD NOW?
The recent war involving Hindi and south Indian languages has caused a stir in the film industry
SHRIYA SARAN,
The debate around Hindi vs south Indian cinema is heating up. Adding a new dimension, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, at a recent event, called out Bollywood, saying that the industry uses “too much English”, from script, screenplay, narration to the language that people use on movie sets. He lauded south film industries for staying true to their mother tongue.
Recently, actors Ajay Devgn and Kiccha Sudeep locked horns on Twitter where Devgn called out Sudeep for making a comment at an event: “Hindi is no more a national language. They (Bollywood) are struggling (to find success)”. He objected when his film was called “panIndia”.
Through a tweet in Hindi, Devgn replied that ‘if Hindi is not the national language, then why are south films being dubbed in Hindi. It was, is and always will be our mother tongue and national language’.
Sudeep replied with a dig and many pointed out the factual inaccuracy about Hindi being called the national language.
Many are surprised by the timing of the conversation, as it comes right on the heels of immense success of Pushpa: The Rise (2021), RRR, KGF 2. And this debate has left the industry divided. Some words were lost in translation, feels producer Girish Johar. “It is about perspective. I don’t think they meant what we are thinking. They know it is one country and one cinema,” he shares.
Director Mahesh Manjrekar opines, “In cinema, language doesn’t matter. We have seen a dubbed Kannada film (KGF 2) getting a business of over ₹300 crore. So, the debate is useless right now.”
Kannada actor Shwetha Srivatsav feels star status comes with responsibility: “As entertainers, we have a huge responsibility of representing our language, nationality, humanity, through our work and our name. No matter which language a movie is made in, it is an Indian film.”
Actor Aakanksha Singh, who has worked in Telugu cinema, says, “Languages unite people and do not divide them; the same goes for cinema. In fact, it gives actors and creative people the opportunity to work across different languages.”
(With inputs from Aayushi Parekh)
The last two years were tough for artistes across the globe. While the world had come to a standstill during the pandemic, dance proved to be therapeutic for some. On International Dance Day today, we speak to choreographers to understand what role dance played in keeping them mentally and physically healthy.
Usually, I have a hectic travel and work schedule. But the last two years, especially the lockdown phase, made us homebound. While TV, OTT, and films gave me solace for a couple of months, the only thing that kept me going after that was dance. Ever since I started dancing professionally (as a choreographer), I realised that there hasn’t been a lot of room for me to learn new things or grow in my craft. So the pandemic gave me a chance to train and take workshops online. Dance was my saviour. It helped me stay fit — both physically and mentally.
SURAJ GOWDA ,
The recent success of films proves the fact that we are looking at one industry, and it is high time we acknowledge it.
No single language will make sense to be the national language. There is a reason why our currency embodies all our languages.