Mumbai: Rashmika Mandanna has one answer for the recurring criticism of her Hindi: an accent is not an error, it is a fact of where she comes from. The actor addressed the debate on the latest episode of Koffee With Karan season 9, where she appeared with her husband and co-star Vijay Deverakonda.
A career without self-imposed barriers
Mandanna said the trolling began early and has never really stopped. She has been questioned over her performance, her language and her accent. What she refused to do, she said, was let those voices decide her work.
“I didn’t want to just work in one industry. I wanted to work in them all,” she said, adding that she also wanted to speak multiple languages rather than limit herself to one.
That choice, she explained, was deliberate. She wanted to play sharply different characters early so that a film like Animal and a film like The Girlfriend could sit in the same filmography. For Mandanna, the contrast itself is the point.
The accent debate returns
Questions about her Hindi delivery resurfaced after the 2025 horror comedy Thamma and again after Cocktail 2 in 2026. Similar reactions have followed Animal, Chhaava and Sikandar.
Mandanna said she has never understood why a South Indian accent should be treated as a problem. “I am from the South of India. So I am going to have an accent. It’s unreasonable to think otherwise,” she said.
Why she still dubs for herself
On the question of dubbing, Mandanna said she offers every director the option of using another artist if a different voice would suit the character better. So far, none have chosen to replace her.
For her, dubbing in multiple languages is both hard work and a point of pride. It lets her remain attached to a performance after the camera stops, rather than handing the voice to someone else.
The road ahead
Mandanna’s slate underlines the multilingual career she is defending. It includes:
- Cocktail 2, released recently
- Ranabaali, a period action drama with Vijay Deverakonda
- Mysaa, a female-led action-adventure
- Raaka, Atlee’s sci-fi fantasy with Allu Arjun, expected to move into production in 2027
For Hindi cinema, the accent argument is rarely only about diction. It is about who is accepted as a leading voice at a time when pan-Indian stardom has made actors more mobile across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other industries. Mandanna’s response keeps the conversation fixed on the work and the roots she refuses to hide.
Source: Hindustan Times
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