Telugu cinema superstar Nani says the trend of moviegoers opening up to films across languages needs to be celebrated rather than being made into a topic of debate. Most recently, South films like “RRR”, Allu Arjun-led “Pushpa” and Yash’s “KGF: Chapter 2” did wonders in the Hindi-speaking belt, while most of the Bollywood films, barring Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, failed to generate buzz. If we look at the recent box office figures, South films are a clear winner by a huge margin.
However, Nani, whose National Award-winning film “Jersey” was recently remade in Hindi with Shahid Kapoor, believes the success of films from any region of the country should be taken in stride as it contributes to the growth of the Indian film industry.
“This divide is stupid. With whatever is happening now, cinema is winning. We are naming ourselves — Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood — these are like borrowed names from Hollywood. I don’t understand why we call ourselves different industries. The languages may be different but we are one nation,” Nani was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
Nani also spoke about the term ‘pan-India’ which is being used for films that are released across the country in several languages. “When a film is exciting and creates the right presence across India, it’s a pan-India film. Not because we are releasing it everywhere. A film that is loved by the audience everywhere is a true pan-India film. We need to concentrate on making a great film so people across the country would love it,” the actor added.
On the work front, Nani stars in the recently released romantic comedy, titled Ante Sundaraniki, which has been helmed by Vivek Athreya.
