Bollywood has a knack for endorsing age-old stereotypes, instead of letting it die down and do better. One of the biggest examples of this is – the token ‘Madrasi’. A terrible trend that has recently been perpetuated by Karan Johar’s Meenakshi Sundareshwar on Netflix.
1. Stop making Rajinikanth references, not every South Indian is obsessed with him and he hasn’t made a film in years, let it go.
2. Not every Tamil woman dresses in a saree or a pattu pavadai every single day. They don’t have to ‘dress’ like they belong in ‘Tamil Nadu’, they already live there, your story should be strong enough to validate the culture.
3. There are enough Tamil actors in the industry who can speak in Hindi if that’s what is necessary, you can cast them instead. So North Indian actors don’t have to pretend to put on a fake accent and appropriate the culture. Ever heard of Samantha or Dhanush?
You can’t blame us for being upset, when every single person from Tamil Nadu looks like a bad version of each other in these films. From Chennai Express (the worst of them all) to Ra.One and 2 States. All these films cast non-Tamil actors in the roles and gave them a fake accent that is just nauseating.
4. Not all Tamils are Brahmins, you can’t put people in a box and hope that an entire state fits into that. Not to mention that Bollywood has always chosen to portray the ‘upper cast’. There is more to Tamil Nadu that just this, and Bollywood can’t wrap its head around that.
5. If you ever visited Tamil Nadu (as you should have for research) then you would know that there is more to food in that state, than just idli, sambar and dosai. Why don’t you ever mention pongal or poriyal or chicken 65?
6. Not every Tamil household has the ‘Carnatic’ music Bollywood uses as a background score, playing all the time. There is more to music in Tamil Nadu than just your one tune.
In a day and age where language in no longer a barrier when it comes to watching shows and movies – from Squid Game to Money Heist, the world has falling in love with them. Why can’t we accept the fact that people in Tamil Nadu do not speak Hindi? Make your wonderful love story in the language that is spoken in these households, with people who speak that language and understand the culture. Use subtitles instead of compromising on the integrity of an entire state. Because let’s be honest Bollywood, you aren’t doing this right.