7 South Indian Actors Who Spoke Openly On Bollywood And It’s Work Culture

There has been a lot of discussion regarding the movie industry in the South and the types of storylines that are being produced. What Bollywood celebrities have stated about the South Indian film industry is well known. Today, we’re going to have to look at how South Indian celebrities feel about performing in Bollywood.

Though South and Bollywood don’t go well most of the time, there are instances where the industries collaborated with each other which did give rise to some of the most commercially successful films produced.

Let’s take a look at the South Indian stars who talked about Bollywood on camera:

1. Mahesh Babu

Mahesh Babu has stated that he cannot manage to be in Bollywood. He remarked that he prefers to work in Telugu movies and is pleased to be seeing Telugu movie theatres.

“I did get a lot of offers in Hindi, but I don’t think they can afford me. I don’t want to waste my time working in an industry which can’t afford me. The stardom and the respect I get here (in South) is huge, so I never really thought of leaving my industry and going to some other industry. I have always thought of doing films and becoming bigger. My dream is coming true now and I can’t be happier.”

2. Priyamani

Priyamani’s acting in the new show The Family Man wowed viewers. She has spoken out about how South Indians are portrayed in Bollywood movies, saying,

“There was a time when earlier we had people like Sridevi, Rekha, Hema Malini, & Vyjayanthimala, who ruled Bollywood. And then there was a dearth you know. We have only Hindi-speaking actors in Bollywood and they used to sort of portray South Indians- could be somebody from Chennai or Kerala – they used to portray them as people who used to not speak Hindi in the normal way – ‘Aiyo, kaisa ji, kya bolta ji’. After a point they stopped that and started getting South technicians to Bollywood. And, we saw a surge of a lot of South Indian technicians coming to Bollywood and making their mark successfully. And right now, I’m very happy that finally South talent is also getting recognized here in Bollywood and South stars are also getting their due.”

3. Yash

In response to Salman’s query about why southern movies are succeeding in Bollywood, KGF star Yash stated,

“It’s not like that. Our films also never used to get this kind of reception, but what is happening from that part of the world, they have started playing dubbed versions here, people became familiar with the content of what we are creating. What worked today is people got familiar with our way of storytelling, our cinema, so it has not happened overnight. That has been there for a few years and eventually, they started understanding the content, the expression of the direction and everything. “

4. Shruti Haasan

She is one of the only in the list who has been very active in Bollywood as well. Shruti Haasan has appeared in many Bollywood movies as the side character, and for some even the protagonist. Shruti Haasan spoke up about just the anonymous source debate in Bollywood, saying,

“I honestly have many times felt like an outsider, especially in Bollywood, there is a whole North-South thing that constantly happens. For example, if I’m doing three Telugu films and three Tamil films, they’ll say, ‘Oh, but you’re not focusing on Hindi,’ as if that is the only industry in the country. And it isn’t. So I have always felt like an outsider.”

5. Dhanush

Dhanush is one of the most famous and well-recognized actors in the south industry. Despite his good professionalism in the south, he does feel kinda misplaced in Bollywood. During an old interview, Dhanush expressed his opposition to the separation between northern and southern Indian films, saying,

“I was always against (the divide between) south and north Indian films. It is an Indian film and that is how it should always be. We are heading towards that (change) at a very rapid pace. It is very healthy. It is helping all of us with our films, actors, and creative people globally.”

6. Allu Arjun

Not like he was an underground artist whatsoever. But ever since Pushpa released he has gained some real fame in Bollywood as well. Mostly because of his action scenes and as well as amazing acting. Allu Arjun rose to prominence with his exemplary work in Pushpa: The Rise. In response to a question about his Bollywood breakthrough, he stated,

“I have got an offer but nothing concrete or exciting. It does take courage, you have to risk it (to work in another industry). When we are the protagonist of the films that we do, anybody who comes to us will only come with the offer to play a protagonist, I would not be interested in anything (else). And it is very well understood. Even the other person will not come and it doesn’t make sense to ask such a big star to play a second role as it damages the film, they also know it. You have to work as a protagonist, as a main lead.”

7. Ram Charan

Konidela Ram Charan Teja is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and businessman who generally focuses in the Telugu film industry. He has won multiple honours, particularly three Filmfare Awards and two Nandi Awards, making him one of the highest-paid Telugu film performers. He has been a part of Forbes India’s Celebrity 100 list since 2013.

Ram Charan commented on how he wishes to see producers and actresses from all parts of the world collaborate, saying,

“I want a director from Hindi cinema to make a pan-Indian film which caters to even the South. Salman tweeted saying, I really love Ram, Rajamouli, and Tarak’s work but why are our films not being appreciated in the South. It is so candid of him to say that but I believe it is the writing; it is the director who has to transcend these boundaries of. Every writer should write movies like Vijayendra Prasad (RRR) or Rajamouli and say ‘believe in it. I want to make an Indian film where I want to work with talent from here (Bollywood), I want directors to explore the talent from South and make bigger films so that we have bigger budgets and we see bigger numbers at the end of the day.”