Rashmika Mandanna has responded to criticism of her Hindi accent, saying it is unreasonable to expect her not to sound South Indian when she comes from the region. The actor said she would not allow comments about her dialogue delivery to restrict her choice of languages or film industries.

Appearing with her husband, actor Vijay Deverakonda, on the latest episode of Koffee With Karan season 9, Rashmika also discussed dubbing for her roles and choosing contrasting characters.

Rashmika said she did not understand why a South Indian accent should be considered a problem. “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.

“For every film that I’m part of, I give my directors the option. I tell them that I won’t feel bad if they want someone else to dub. But none of my directors wanted that. They wanted me to dub for myself. It was a matter of pride for me because dubbing in all these languages requires a lot of hard work. If I can do it, there is nothing like it,” she said.

Rashmika said criticism had followed her throughout her career, covering her performances, acting, language and accent. She added that she did not want such reactions to limit her choices.

“Ever since I started working in the film industry, I’ve been criticised or trolled for one thing or the other, either my performance, the language, the acting, the accent or anything. I never wanted to put a barrier on myself. I didn’t want to work in just one industry. I wanted to work in them all. I didn’t want to speak just one language. I wanted to speak all languages,” she said.

Choosing contrasting characters

Rashmika said she began experimenting with different kinds of films early in her career to challenge herself as a performer. Taking on characters with contrasting personalities was part of that plan. She particularly values the difference between her roles in Animal and The Girlfriend.

Projects across industries

Rashmika has several projects across Hindi and South Indian cinema. She was recently seen in Homi Adajania’s Cocktail 2 and reunited with Vijay Deverakonda for the period action drama Ranabaali.

Her upcoming films include Mysaa, a female-led action-adventure, and Raaka, Atlee’s science-fiction fantasy starring Allu Arjun. Raaka is expected to go into production in 2027.