25 October,2026 07:18 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Javed Akhtar and Rashmika Mandanna. Pics via IMDb and Instagram
Veteran lyricist Javed Akhtar has come out in support of Rashmika Mandanna amid criticism over her accent and pronunciation, but his defence has triggered a fresh debate online. Akhtar took to X on October 25 to condemn the trolling, urging critics to consider how well they could pronounce words in a language they did not speak. However, his description of Rashmika as a "Tamil actor" drew backlash, with social media users pointing out that she is a Kodava from Karnataka.
In his post, Akhtar wrote, "Those who have any problem with the pronunciation 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."
While his post aimed to call out linguistic superiority and defend the actor against accent-based criticism, several users took issue with the regional identity attributed to her. Rashmika's mother tongue is Kodava Takk, and she has worked across Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi cinema.
Reacting to Akhtar's post, one user drew a comparison with the historical stereotyping of South Indians, writing, "This is like calling all South Indians âMadrasis' during the pre-NTR Congress era... Javed Saab, Rashmika is a Kannadiga who works across all languages, including Hindi."
Another user criticised the film industry's portrayal of regional communities, commenting, "Writers like you in Bollywood created Stereotypes about South Indians, Sikhs, Marathis, Bengalis and every ethnicity in this country. So plz don't try to educate us about Tamil. An average Indian can speak about 3-4 regional languages."
A third user questioned the distinction between Indian languages, writing, "You are a lyricist who can't understand the difference between languages of his own country!! What an Irony!! This is exactly why people from southern states hate bigots and entitled idiots like you!! She is from Karnataka and predominantly worked in the Telugu industry and married into a Telugu family!"
One more comment listed Rashmika's background and challenged Akhtar's assertion about Tamil, writing, "She is a kodava. Her mother tongue is kodava and she is from kodagu district, karnataka. She isnt a Tamilian. Tamil is not the oldest spoken language in the world."
The controversy comes days after Rashmika addressed criticism over her accent on Koffee with Karan season 9, where she appeared alongside her husband, Vijay Deverakonda. The actor said she never wanted criticism to limit her opportunities across film industries or prevent her from speaking different languages.
Rashmika has previously explained that her career across languages developed organically. In an interview with Hindustan Times, she said, "I am a Kodava and speak Kodava Takk, we dont have an industry for my mother tongue. So language has never been a barrier in my career. I treat all languages as my own."
While Akhtar's post sought to challenge the criticism directed at Rashmika's pronunciation, the backlash has shifted the conversation towards her cultural identity and the importance of distinguishing between the languages and communities of southern India.
