Javed Akhtar defends Rashmika amid criticism over her Hindi accent: 'This is not acceptable'

Javed Akhtar defends Rashmika Mandanna amid criticism over her Hindi accent; says, 'This fake and baseless linguistic superiority is not acceptable'

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has come out in support of actor Rashmika Mandanna after she addressed criticism of her Hindi accent. Reacting to the debate over her pronunciation in Hindi films, the veteran lyricist took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend the actor and call out what he described as linguistic superiority.

He argued that people criticising her pronunciation should try speaking Tamil themselves before passing judgement.

Javed Akhtar calls out criticism of Rashmika Mandanna’s accent

Responding to the criticism directed at Rashmika Mandanna, Javed Akhtar wrote, “Those who have any problem with the pronounciation 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."Through his post, the veteran writer highlighted the unfairness of judging an actor's language skills while overlooking the challenges of speaking a language that may not be their mother tongue. His remarks have brought renewed attention to the conversation around accents, regional identities and linguistic expectations in Indian cinema.

Rashmika Mandanna says her South Indian accent should not be a problem

Rashmika Mandanna recently addressed the criticism during an appearance with her husband, actor Vijay Deverakonda, on the latest episode of 'Koffee With Karan Season 9'.

The actor explained that she did not understand why her South Indian accent was considered an issue when she herself comes from the region."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," she said.

The actor's Hindi dialogue delivery has frequently become a topic of discussion on social media, with reactions resurfacing following films such as 'Animal', 'Chhaava', 'Sikandar', 'Thamma' and 'Cocktail 2'.

Rashmika Mandanna on dubbing for her own films

Rashmika Mandanna also spoke about the effort involved in dubbing for films across different languages. She revealed that she gives her directors the option of hiring another dubbing artist but said they have consistently preferred her voice.She described the opportunity to dub for herself in multiple languages as a matter of pride, adding that the process requires considerable hard work.The actor further explained that criticism has followed her throughout her career, targeting everything from her acting performances to her language and accent.

However, she does not want such reactions to limit her professional choices.Rashmika Mandanna said she wanted to explore different film industries and speak multiple languages rather than confine herself to one industry. Javed Akhtar's support adds another voice to the ongoing debate about linguistic diversity and the expectations placed on actors working across India's multilingual film industries.