Actress Kangana Ranaut has never been discreet about her distaste for nepotism in Bollywood. The actor has been outspoken about how she believes celebrity kids in Hindi films deny 'outsiders' of possibilities. 0Now, Ranaut has blasted star kids once more, claiming in a recent interview that their lack of audience relatability is what is driving Hindi films to lose ground to South films.
Films from the Telugu and Kannada film industries have outperformed all Hindi films at the box office in the post-pandemic era. 'RRR' and 'KGF: Chapter 2' have both grossed over 1000 crores, while 'Pushpa: The Rise' was also a big hit, grossing over 100 crore in the Hindi belt alone. These films' Hindi adaptations alone outperformed most Bollywood films released in the past two years. Ranaut believes it's because the public doesn't connect with the celebrity youngsters who play the main characters in many Hindi films.
In an interview with ABP Live, Ranaut reacted to a question on what makes South Indian film more successful than Bollywood these days. The actor responded, “The way they have a connect with their audience, it is very strong. I wouldn’t say fans, it’s much more than that. With us what happens is that their (stars’) kids go abroad to complete their studies. They talk in English, watch only Hollywood films. They eat only with knife and fork and talk differently. So, how will they connect? Dekhne me bhi ajeeb se aise lagte hai jaise uble hue ande (They even look weird like boiled eggs). Their entire look has changed so people cannot relate. I don’t mean to troll anyone.”
When discussing characters that people can relate to, the actress used Allu Arjun's character Pushpa from the 2021 Telugu movie 'Pushpa: The Rise' as an example. She added, “Look how Pushpa looks like someone we know. Every labourer is able to connect with him. Tell me which of our heroes can look like a labourer in today’s times? They cannot. So, their culture (of South Indian film industry) and their grounded nature is paying them off. I hope they don’t start taking inspiration from the West. It’s important to stay connected to people within your country.”
Ranaut is currently awaiting the release of her spy action-thriller 'Dhaakad.' The film sees her in the role of a super spy. Directed by Razneesh Ghai, it also stars Arjun Rampal and Divya Dutta and is set to release on May 20.
