'Why Not Refer Us As Indian Actor': Swastika Mukherjee Says Amid Language Row

Many actors have jumped into the ongoing language debate in Indian cinema which was sparked after a row between actors Kiccha Sudeep and Ajay Devgn. The latest to comment is actor Swastika Mukherjee who has called out those who use the term ‘Bengali actor’ instead of ‘Indian actor’.

Mukherjee’s tweet came a day after she told Indian express that she feels Bengali cinema is still left out of the term ‘pan-India’.

Swastika Mukherjee On Language Debate

On May 25, the actor took to Twitter and expressed her disdain. She wrote, “What is ‘Bengali actor’? Does anyone write ‘Hindi actor’ for those whose mother tongue is Hindi? Does every actor working in Bollywood hail from Mumbai? Or do we keep mentioning their home town in every damn headline? Indian actor bolne mein kya dikkat hain bhai? (Is it difficult to refer to people as an Indian actor?)”

In her interview with IE, she also said, “We get to see a lot of north Indian setup in our films. That’s become quite a big thing in content, and also a lot of focus on Malayalam films. Though they are making incredible cinema, I also feel we need to explore Bengal and even the east. There is so much good work happening in Assam. There are directors who are taking their films to the Academy Awards.”

She will be next starring in Netflix’s Qala, co-starring late actor Irrfan Khan’s son Babil Khan and Tripti Dimri.

Suggested Reading: Breaking Barriers, Challenging Stereotypes: 5 Empowering Quotes By Swastika Mukherjee

Language Debate

The debate began after a comment by Kiccha Sudeep which read, “Hindi is no more a national language. They (Bollywood) are doing pan-India films today. They are struggling (to find success) by dubbing in Telugu and Tamil, but it’s not happening. Today we are making films that are going everywhere.”

Devgn called out Sudeep and responded in Hindi writing, “My brother, if according to you Hindi is not our national language, then why do you release your movies in your mother tongue by dubbing them in Hindi? Hindi was, is, and always will be our mother tongue and national language. Jan Gan Man."

Since then, many actors have weighed their opinions with many actors like Adah Sharma, Akshay Kumar and others opining that the film industry shouldn’t be divided and that every film irrespective of language is part of Indian cinema.