Deepika Padukone’s victim card exploit never seizes to end. After ‘My choice’, ‘depression’ and ‘struggle’ victim card; the actress has stepped in with yet another victim card. As per her new victim card, the actress has been “frowned upon” for her South Indian accent. Hilarious, right? The actress seemingly is not aware of the fact that South Indian women have been ruling Bollywood since its beginning.
Deepika’s brand-new victim card
Om Shanti Om actress Deepika Padukone this time has revealed that “her ‘South Indian accent’ was frowned upon and initially in her career she thought that she might get written off due to it.”
Deepika, in her self-appraisal, also said that “she will accept any praise that comes her way for bringing a change in mainstream Hindi cinema.” The actress said that “since she was an outsider to the industry, she became an observer which helped her to ‘change the status quo’.”
Read More: The various victim cards of ‘Bechari’ Deepika Padukone
In an interview with Vogue India, Deepika said, “I do see the obvious disparity between men and women in almost any aspect of life, but never in my journey have I felt the need to compare. And I think it’s to do with the fact that my sister and I weren’t brought up like that. We weren’t constantly reminded of the fact that we were girls, and so we had to go into the world thinking differently and fighting for what we deserved. But I did have to tackle other challenges. Coming from a sports background meant I did not have a natural inroad into Bollywood. My South Indian accent was also frowned upon and I initially worried about being written off because of it.”
Read more: From promoting adultery to ‘Maal Hai Kya,’ the amazing journey of Deepika Padukone
Ironically, when she was asked to play a South Indian in Rohit Shetty’s ‘Chennai Express’, she ended up portraying the character with an unreal accent so much so that it sounded a bit nauseating.
It is clearly evident that the actress does not have a South Indian accent and thus, her victim card cannot work this time.
The list of South Indian actresses who ruled Bollywood
Being in Bollywood, Deepika should know that most of the star actresses that Bollywood ever had, were of South Indian origin. Well, we understand that your busy schedule might not have allowed you to go through the list of such actresses.
Read more: Deepika Padukone’s Gehraiyaan is an epic ‘trash’
Thus, we have compiled a list of Bollywood actresses who ruled Bollywood despite being a south-Indian.
- Hema Malini – During her career, she received eleven nominations for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, winning the award in 1973. In 2000, Malini won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2019 Filmfare Special Award for 50 Years of Outstanding Contribution to Cinema. The ‘Dream girl’ of Bollywood has inspired many of today’s actresses.
- Rekha – I really doubt if there’s anyone in India who does not admire the beauty of evergreen Rekha. A website read “Time and tide wait for no one but Rekha. She’s defied time.” She’s worked in more than 170 films. For her performance in the comedy Khubsoorat (1980), Rekha received her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She followed it with roles in Baseraa (1981), Ek Hi Bhool (1981), Jeevan Dhaara (1982) and Agar Tum Na Hote (1983).
- Sridevi – She was the first Bollywood actress to have a huge fan following outside India. After the release of Khuda Gawah, the actress gained immense popularity not only in India but in Afghanistan as well. Her journey was commendable and it can be proved through the fact that she was named the best actress for the movie ‘Mom’ which was released a few months before she died.
- Vidya Balan – From Deepika Padukone in Gehraiyaan (2022) and Alia Bhatt in Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) to Taapsee Pannu in the upcoming Shabaash Mithu, the present omnipresence of female protagonists was started by Vidya Balan herself. It is through her efforts that more women are being given the parts they need as a protagonist. Over the years, Balan won praises for performances in films like The Dirty Picture (2011) and Tumhari Sulu (2017).
- Vyjayanthimala – Vyjayanthimala ruled Bollywood for almost two decades. Apart from being an ace actress, Vyjayanthimala is also a trained Bharatnatyam dancer, a Carnatic singer and a dance choreographer. She is popular for some brilliant performances in films like ‘Madhumati’, ‘Naya Daur’, ‘Leader’, ‘Jewel Thief’, ‘Sangam’ and many more. The first South Indian actress to become a national star, she made way for south Indian actresses to foray into Bollywood.
- Jaya Prada – She is hailed as one of the most influential actresses in both Telugu and Hindi film industries in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s. She was honoured with three Filmfare Awards South and has starred in many Telugu and Hindi films along with several Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi films.
You see, the list of such actresses is never-ending. Deepika Padukone, despite being a decent actress and fairly beautiful glam-doll, focuses on playing victim cards to gain sympathy and earn popularity. If she had focused on her career, her acting skills would have turned out to be much better and we could have included her in our list of favourite South-Indian Bollywood actresses too.