Actress Priyamani reacts to the term 'pan-India', and shares her views on the word being used to address talents from south working in Bollywood. Priyamani has predominantly worked in the south and headlined several award-winning blockbusters such as Paruthiveeran, Chaarulatha, Pellaina Kothalo, and other films across Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam languages.
While promoting her new film Maidaan, Priyamani shares her views on the concept of pan-India. Asks her if she likes the term, pan-India, and she says, "Initially aacha laga hoga sunne mein, but it's high time we should start calling Indian actors. At the end of the day, we all are Indian actors. I don't know who coined the term 'pan-India'.
Priyamani agrees that actors have been identified by their contributions in different languages. "Yes, we have been segregated by our respective languages. Even though our films have been dubbed, but we were known by our language. But now, all the technicians and artistes are getting work in all the industries. I think we should all call Indian actors and technicians. Enough is enough."
The actress who has done impressive work in Hindi, naming Raavan, Jawan, Article 370, takes examples of veteran Bollywood superstars who hail from the south. Priyamani asserts, "At that time no body was called pan-India star, be it Sridevi ma'am, or Jaya Prada ma'am, Rekha ji. They created a mark for themselves in Bollywood. Rajini (Rajinikanth) sir, Kamal (Hassan) sir have done so many films here. They were never called pan-Indian actors at that time. Why are we called pan-India actors? I think we just need to be called actors."
About Maidaan.
Read: Maidaan review: Amit Sharma scores a winner with Bollywood's best sports drama in years, Ajay Devgn shines yet again
Helmed by Amit Sharma, Maidaan is the story of Indian football coach Syed Abdul Rahim (played by Ajay Devgn), and his team XI. Apart from Priyamani the movie also stars Gajraj Rao, Rudranil Ghosh, Chaitnya Sharma, and Davinder Gill in key roles. The movie was released on April 10 with positive reviews from critics and audiences.
