I won’t say no if I’m approached for a Hindi film.
I was called the ‘Ugly Duckling’ of Hindi films because of my dark complexion and south Indian features.
‘Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi’ has a very nice subject which I think could be remade into a Hindi film. It was my first film in Telugu for which I got Filmfare Award for the best actress.
I watch lots of movies, both English and Hindi.
Until we got married, Radha didn’t utter a word of English and now she won’t speak Hindi. Her Hindi’s pretty good actually – she learnt it while watching Hindi movies.
Hindi films are not made for critics, it is made for worldwide Hindi film watching audience.
If you’re talking about industry, I’ve never restricted myself to Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, or Kannada. Whichever the language is, from Swahili to Marathi or Bhojpuri to Bengali, I would be happy to do it.
I am more comfortable with Tamil than Hindi.
I’ve had the fortune of working with a large Malayali crew in Priyadarshan’s ‘Bumm Bumm Bole’ and Ajay Verma’s ‘SRK,’ which is a Hindi remake of Sreenivasan’s ‘Chinthavishtayaya Shyamala.’
Hindi films offer a wider reach. As an industry, it has the capability to merge varied states, languages, and nationalities.
I was about 19 when I began working for Hindi films.
When I was little, my dad used to call me ‘Bandarella,’ because I was a mess – a Bandar is a monkey in Hindi. I was not a girly-girl and would always break something and would be running around and didn’t really fit in.
‘Bigg Boss’ was the first time I was exposed to a situation where I had to only speak in Hindi. Prior to that, I was learning but never practising.
I’ve worked with the likes of Ram Gopal Varma in ‘Rakhta Charitra’ and Mani Ratman in ‘Raavan’ – both these films released in Hindi as well. You need to have something substantial to make a mark in Bollywood and these movies gave me strong characters.
Dancing like a typical Hindi film hero was a bit strange at first but I enjoyed it.
Industries only vary in scale and not in content, so I was never star-struck about Bollywood. However, I am fortunate to make it to Hindi because several people aspire to be a part of this industry.
Hindi is far easier a language to pick up than Tamil.
I was exposed to a Muslim school, so I learnt Urdu. I was exposed to a Hindu school, so I learnt Hindi. I was exposed to a Church of England school, so I got my Senior Cambridge certificate.
It feels great to be a part of ‘Wajah Tum Ho.’ I am super excited, this will be my first Hindi project where I play the lead.
I have worked really hard to reach where I am – I worked hard on my Hindi and diction because I am a Parsi and Hindi is not my strong point, and I’ve also learnt Tamil and Telugu because I want to get my lines right. I want to be known as a performer.
There is no nepotism in the Hindi film industry.
Having worked in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil film industries, I’ve been lucky to have travelled far and wide for shoots.
I can speak Odiya, Telugu, apart from Hindi and a little bit of Rajasthani, so, truly Indian from that context.
I am very happy for the respect shown towards my father, Raj Kapoor-ji, the greatest showman of Hindi cinema.
I am looking forward to doing roles in Hindi films but have to watch my step.
I want to do Hindi films, but a proper one and a good production. I’m even open to multi-starrers because those work better in Bollywood. But it should be with only Bollywood technicians, not the South Indian team. There’s no point to my going to Bollywood if I work with the same artistes and technicians.
I have done 33 films in one year, for which I hold a Guinness Book World record. Plus I’ve done songs for all languages from Hindi to Malayalam, Punjabi to Telugu, and Kannada to Oriya.
I would love to do more Hindi films, but I am very laid-back that way and wouldn’t go looking for more films.
I think the Hindi film heroine is stereotypical. It is nice to have an opportunity to have that freedom to not to do that anymore.
Besides Hindi and English, I can speak in Maithli, my native language, and in Bangla and Nepalese too. But I can just about make a smattering at Marathi.
Even when I had three Hindi films happening at the same time, Tamil and Telugu will always be an important industry considering I started my career there.
I didn’t even know how to speak Hindi or act. I didn’t think about fame and money. I didn’t talk about money with the producers, as I was a minor. My parents handled that part. But I am from a family where money was never an issue.
I’ve mostly worked in Hindi and occasionally Gujarati, which is my mother tongue.
The scariest thing about ‘Roy’ was that it was sync sound. So, I had to worry about my diction all the more along with my emotions, acting, and my dialogues. That was very challenging because it pushed me to work on my Hindi, and in a good way.
I play the role of a gangster’s wife in a web series, a cop’s wife in Hindi film ‘Vodka Diaries,’ a cop in ‘Adangathey’ and a gangster in ‘Saaho.’ So yeah, I have got all the roles covered.
I got a lot of exposure because of ‘Eega,’ as the film was released in Tamil, Hindi, and Malayalam.
There are quality films being made in all languages, whether in Hindi cinema, Bengali or the south. Bollywood doesn’t represent Indian cinema, per say.
It would be interesting to explore an opportunity if Hindi filmmakers think I can fit into any character in a film.
Studios tend to approach popular actors because they want to grab eyeballs. When it comes to the south actors, this may work because they cater to a different kind of audience, and it might make a difference there. However, in the Hindi film space, having a famous name only works in specific cases.
I have sung songs in many Indian language be it Kannad, Tamil, Telgu, Marathi, Bhojpuri or Hindi and worked with all the good music directors.
I believe in cinema! Unfortunately, 90 per cent of Hindi cinema is non-cinema. Only marketing works here. Even the item songs in these films are an extension of marketing.
Of course you cannot compare my Hindi with a Hindi-speaking person, but I am confident enough to hold a conversation in mixed Hindi-English.
Filming in India was one big adventure. For ‘The Cheetah Girls’, we were in Mumbai for two weeks, then Rajasthan for six weeks. Every day after shooting, I would hop into a rickshaw and start exploring the city. I even learned a bit of Hindi. It’s such an amazing place to visit.
I wanted to work in the Hindi film industry much more than what I was offered. But if you are a grain of rice in a wheat field, it is not your fault… You are just different.
I speak Hindi with a Punjabi accent, not a Haryanvi accent.
I had a spine problem. I did a lot of stunts and fights in Hindi cinema, had falls from horses… all that took a toll on my health.
In a typical Hindi film, there’s the role of the hero, the heroine, and the other important character is the villain.
Billa’ was inspired by Hindi hit ‘Don.’
Singing in Hindi is nice but restrictive. Regional languages are more rhythmic, have a different tone and sound, making it more interesting.
It took me just three months to pick up Hindi. I guess I’m a fast learner when it comes to languages.
Given a chance, I would love to host a television show as I have good communication skills and am fluent in Hindi, English and Urdu.
Hindi film songs are the best of everything – whether it is lyrics, melody and talented singers.
My personal style comes from jugaad, a Hindi word meaning doing more with less.
I don’t mind acting in Hindi films, but the script has to suit me. It has to be a boy-next-door role because that’s the image I have in Tamil cinema.
The problem in South is we don’t have access to much of Hindi cinema.
I speak, Hindi, English, and American. I’m trilingual.
For ‘Rakht Charitra,’ I had to gain and lose weight. I simultaneously shot the film in three languages – Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi.
If you’ve made it big in Bollywood, such as Kareena Kapoor Khan and Katrina Kaif, and then you do an item song, it becomes a ‘guest appearance.’ That’s how it works. Sadly, that’s the attitude of our Hindi film industry.
Unfortunately, the Hindi film industry is a sitting duck; it is easy to hurl malevolent accusations. It is a systematic campaign to divert attention from real issues, failing economy, China border tensions, spiraling Covid cases, and farmers’ agitation by putting the spotlight on the supposed ills of the film industry.
I can speak a little bit of Hindi but understand every word.
I speak Hindi fluently because my mother speaks only in Hindi and Urdu.
I studied Hindi in school and that’s come in handy.
I know people know me as the ‘white baddie’ of Hindi cinema.
I wanted to do ‘Kanchana’ in Hindi but many heroes I approached were hesitant to act with the saree and also demanded that the climax song be removed completely. I wrote the script with such passion that I could not agree for any compromise.
The pursuit system is an ideal way to shoot action sequences. It enhances the picturisation and captures the scene so well that the audience can feel the thrilling speed of the chase sequence in the film. ‘Dhoom 3’ is the first Hindi film to use this technique.
