From Animal to The Girlfriend, Rashmika Mandanna reflects on breaking language barriers, embracing contrasting roles and retaining her cultural identity in Indian cinema.
Swati Bhat
For Rashmika Mandanna, becoming a pan-Indian star has never meant leaving her regional identity behind. The actress, who appeared alongside her husband Vijay Deverakonda on the ninth season of Koffee With Karan, offered a candid perspective on the criticism surrounding her South Indian accent, her ambition to work across languages and the creative choices that have shaped her career.
While the celebrity couple, popularly known as Virosh, shared glimpses of their personal lives during their conversation with filmmaker and host Karan Johar, Rashmika's reflections on professional identity brought a different dimension to the episode.
Rashmika Mandanna on Choosing Diverse Roles Across Indian Cinema
Having established herself in Telugu and Kannada cinema before expanding into Hindi films, Rashmika has steadily explored characters across different storytelling traditions. Reflecting on her journey, she explained that criticism has accompanied her career, whether concerning her acting, language or accent. Rather than allowing such observations to determine her choices, she preferred to pursue opportunities beyond linguistic and industry boundaries.
Her performances in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal and Rahul Ravindran's The Girlfriend illustrate that ambition. While Animal places her character Geetanjali within an intense, conflict-driven family drama, The Girlfriend explores emotional manipulation, possessiveness and a woman's struggle to reclaim her independence. The contrasting narratives have allowed Rashmika to explore distinctly different interpretations of relationships and female agency.
Speaking about the satisfaction of working on such varied projects, she summed up her artistic intention with a simple declaration: “I wanted it that way.”
Rashmika Mandanna on Her South Indian Accent: Identity Over Conformity
One of the conversation's most revealing moments came when Rashmika addressed criticism of her South Indian accent in Hindi cinema.
Rather than viewing her pronunciation as a professional shortcoming, the actress explained that it naturally reflected where she came from. Her response also highlighted the practical challenges of working in a multilingual film industry, where actors must often adapt to unfamiliar languages while maintaining the emotional authenticity of their performances. Rashmika revealed that she routinely offers filmmakers the option of employing another dubbing artist if they believe the character requires it. According to her, however, the directors she has worked with have preferred that she retain her own voice. For the actress, dubbing her performances across languages represents both an additional responsibility and a personal achievement. The effort involved in learning dialogue, understanding linguistic nuances and delivering a convincing performance makes that choice particularly meaningful.
Why Rashmika Mandanna's Remarks Matter Beyond the Koffee With Karan Couch
Rashmika's comments raise a relevant question about identity in an increasingly interconnected Indian film industry: should an actor's regional accent be treated as something to eliminate, or as a natural part of the linguistic diversity that Indian cinema represents? As films travel across regional markets and reach audiences through theatrical releases and streaming platforms, performers are increasingly working beyond the industries in which they began their careers.
In that environment, Rashmika's perspective places emphasis on adaptability without the expectation of cultural uniformity. Her approach to choosing roles also reflects a willingness to move between mainstream commercial entertainment and character-driven storytelling rather than allowing one successful screen image to define her opportunities. For Rashmika Mandanna, the conversation was ultimately about more than responding to criticism. It was about recognising that an actor's growth need not come at the expense of their origins.
And in an industry where language, geography and stardom are becoming increasingly interconnected, that distinction carries its own significance.
