Never beating around the bush, Kangana Ranaut agreed Thursday with Telugu actor Mahesh Babu’s assertion that Bollywood can’t afford it. Kangana was in the national capital to launch the second trailer for his upcoming action thriller Dhaakad.
Mahesh has been busy promoting his film. Sarkaru Vaari Paata. During an interview, the actor was asked when he would make a Hindi movie. He replied, “I don’t know if that would sound arrogant. I got a lot of Hindi offers. But, the simple thing is that I don’t think they can pay me. I can’t waste my time. The kind of respect I get here. The kind of stardom I get here. I never really thought about leaving my industry and going to another.”
During the trailer release for Dhaakad, Kangana Ranaut was asked about the Telugu star’s comment and she agreed, “Ye toh unhone sahi kaha (You are absolutely right). I agree with this. She continued, “I know for sure that you get a lot of offers from various filmmakers. Your generation of actors has made the Telugu film industry the number one film industry in India. So Bollywood definitely cannot afford it.”
Kangana further praised actor Bharat Ane Nenu and the Telugu film industry.
“He has shown respect towards his industry and no one can deny it. We cannot deny that the Telugu film industry did not receive anything on a plate. In the last 10-15 years, they have worked hard and even left the Tamil film industry behind. We can only learn from them,” said the actor.
After his statement sparked controversy, Mahesh Babu clarified that his statement was just a reflection of his love for the film industry. He said, “I have always wanted to make movies in Telugu. And I have always wanted Telugu films to do well all over the country. I strongly feel why we should go to another industry and leave ours behind. I am very happy that our films are reaching there (in North India). Our movies are doing well pan-India and my dream is coming true.”
Kangana Ranaut also did her bit in the Hindi as a national language debate that came to light after Kiccha Sudeep and Ajay Devgn’s Twitter exchange. She said: “In this nation, there are many languages and no language is inferior to another. So all languages must be respected equally.”
But the Dhaakad actor feels that people who move to different states must adapt to the culture of that particular state and also learn the language of the state. “When you go to another state, you have to learn the language of that state. I moved to Mumbai from Himachal (Pradesh) so I learned Marathi. Likewise, anyone who comes to the northern states must learn Hindi and respect the culture of the state. We should rise above all those things,” Kangana concluded.
Apart from Kangana Ranaut, Dhaakad also stars Arjun Rampal, Saswata Chatterjee and Divya Dutta in pivotal roles. It will hit theaters on May 20.
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