Aishwarya Rai reacts to north vs south cinema debate: ‘Barriers have gone down’

Aishwarya Rai was asked to share her thoughts on the debate around north versus south films recently. The actor, who has been busy promoting her upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan: I, said that right now was an ‘amazing time’ for Indian cinema as the audience wants to see films ‘from every part’. Many south Indian films, like RRR, Pushpa: The Rise and KGF Chapter 2, have become pan-Indian hits in recent times. Aishwarya said it was ‘evident’ that people are lapping up cinema from across the country. Also read: Ponniyin Selvan I might register biggest opening ever for a Mani Ratnam film

Aishwarya said that language barriers between films and film industries were now being broken and films from everywhere were being seen by everyone now. Over the past few months, many non-Hindi films have proved to be box office hits all over India. In recent months, the number of Hindi films that emerged as hits were lower than the non-Hindi films. Films such as SS Rajamouli’s RRR, starring Jr NTR, Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn, were made in Telugu, and dubbed and released in other languages.

At an event promoting Ponniyin Selvan: I in Delhi, Aishwarya Rai spoke about films from south India having a successful run in movie theatres across the country. “It’s an amazing time right now, where we need to break away from the typical way of looking at artists and cinema. I think it’s a great time right now, where all these barriers have gone down. People know our cinema nationally. In fact, they are wanting to see the cinema from every part,” Aishwarya was quoted as saying in a Pinkvilla report.

The actor further added, “I think this is finally the perfect time where it has become accessible nationally through so many platforms. Everybody can view cinema for what it is, across India. So, I think we need to kind of break away from this conventional way of thinking and help our viewers, our audiences, and our readers also to not slide into that typical way of viewing. Art has always been there, found the audience, and has been appreciated; so, have the artists. But avenues were limited. Today is a great time when it has become accessible to everybody. And proof of the pudding is in the eating, right? It is so evident that people are embracing and lapping up cinema from across the country.”

Aishwarya, who made her acting debut in 1997 with Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar, is making her comeback to Tamil films with her upcoming period drama, Ponniyin Selvan: I. The Mani Ratnam-directorial, based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Tamil novel of the same name, also stars Jayam Ravi, Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan and Sobhita Dhulipala. The AR Rahman musical is all set to be released in theatres on September 30 in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.