Rashmika Mandanna opens up about her language struggles amid trolling

Actress Rashmika Mandanna, who has appeared in films across Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi cinema, has opened up about the trolling she has faced over her pronunciation and language skills.

Rashmika has built a career across multiple Indian film industries, moving from South Indian cinema to Bollywood. However, her multilingual career has also made her a target of criticism on social media, particularly over the way she speaks and pronounces words in different languages.

Addressing the criticism, Rashmika said she is not an expert in any particular language. Instead, she has developed a connection with different languages while working in various film industries.

Rashmika's mother tongue is Kodava Takk, a language spoken mainly in the Kodagu region of Karnataka. As there is no major film industry producing movies in the language, she had to work in other languages after entering the acting profession.

She made her acting debut with Kannada cinema in 2016 before gaining wider recognition through Telugu films. She later expanded her career into Tamil and Hindi cinema.

Speaking about her experience of moving between languages, Rashmika said her career was not built around one particular language. Rather, professional opportunities and the love of audiences took her from one language industry to another.

The actress said she considers all the languages she works in to be her own and tries to communicate with audiences in their language. For her, this is not simply about learning a language but also a way of showing respect to the audience.

Rashmika also acknowledged that she is not “very good” at any particular language. Although she knows and works in several languages, she does not consider herself an expert in any one of them.

Her comments come amid repeated trolling over her pronunciation and dialogue delivery. According to Rashmika, achieving perfect pronunciation in every language is not always possible when working across multiple industries. Instead, she considers the effort to learn and connect with audiences more important.

Rashmika's career reflects that multilingual journey. After making her debut in 2016, she rose to prominence through successful Telugu films such as Geetha Govindam, Dear Comrade, Sarileru Neekevvaru and Pushpa: The Rise. She made her Bollywood debut with Goodbye and gained wider recognition in Hindi cinema following Animal.

Her work across several language industries has established her as one of India's prominent multilingual actresses. However, working across different languages also brings additional scrutiny, as even minor differences in pronunciation can attract attention from audiences and social media users.

Despite the trolling, Rashmika said she does not want to give too much importance to every comment on social media.

She also described filmmaking as a collaborative process, saying that the final outcome of a film depends on the combined efforts of directors, actors, cinematographers, musicians and many others. As a result, she does not want to be overly concerned with every reaction on social media.

Rashmika currently has several major projects in the pipeline. She is set to reunite with Vijay Deverakonda in a new film, marking their first on-screen appearance together after their marriage. She will also be seen in Maysa in a different role and is attached to a film based on the life of legendary singer M.S. Subbulakshmi.

-MT