Chakda Xpress: Anushka Isn't the First One To Draw Flak For Accent In A Film, Here's A List

Anushka Sharma accent in Chakda Xpress teaser slammed: On January 6, Anushka Sharma announced her upcoming biopic on Indian cricketer Jhulan Goswami, titled Chakda Xpress. The film draws its title from Goswami's birthplace in West Bengal- Chakda. However, many viewers were not amused with Sharma's accent in the teaser, also questioning whether the actor is even the right choice to play a cricketer from West Bengal. Aren't there any Bengali actors who could be cast in the role?

But Sharma is not alone. While in the past Bollywood actors have gotten away with their accents that caricaturise a community rather than make them sound authentic, in recent years viewers have started calling out such poor casting choices and accents. With so many actors available, why must a Hindi speaking actor be cast for a regional role, thus allowing them to misrepresent a state and its residents?

Here are 10  actors who got slammed for their accents in films :

Raveena Tandon's Himachali accent in Aranyak: Tandon's debut web show which came out last year received mixed reviews. While the actor was praised for her performance the thriller series, many were not onboard with her Himachali accent.

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“#Arnayak gets a lot of things right other than @TandonRaveena and others trying to get the Himachali accent right! It is horrendous. Qualified to say this because of being half-Himachali and because I grew up there," wrote author Pooja Priyamvada and Tandon's accent in the series.

Deepika Padukone's Southern Chennai Express: Despite hailing from the Southern part of the country, Padukone decided to give a Bollywood twist to her accent in Shah Rukh Khan starter Chennai Express. Padukone played the role of a Tamilian girl who knows how to speak Hindi. Despite boasting of a primarily Tamil-speaking cast for roles that belonged to the region, Padukone's accent singlehandedly brought the authentic quotient of the film. Some even term it as "atrocious" and others said " it sounded more like that of a Malayalam-speaker"

Kiara Advan's Punjabi accent in Shershaah: Kiara Advani was seen playing a Sikh girl in Shershaah but despite her acting being great, the audience criticised her dialect that made the character less realistic as it reminded them of South Bombay rather than Punjab.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Urdu in Umrao Jaan: The Miss World's rich, poetic Urdu speech in Umrao Jaan was a bit off due to it sounding like her real self reciting those lines. Rai failed to get the accent right for this 2006 film which did injustice not just to Urdu, but to all the poetry featured in Umrao Jaan.

Kangana Ranaut's Haryanvi accent in Tanu Weds Manu Returns: The queen of controversies too failed to perfect the Haryanavi accent for her film Tanu Weds Manu Returns. This could probably be the reason why she chose not to accent to her performance as late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in her biopic Thalaivii.

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Katrina Kaif's accent in initial movies: Despite delivering back-to-back hits, Katrina Kaif initially had faced a lot of criticism due to her accent in movies. "When I started, people were not only writing me off for my strong British accent, there were many others who tried to prevent me from making it till here," said Katrina Kaif. Due to this, Katrina was largely offered roles of non-resident Indian women for which her real accent seemed to be perfect.

Sara Ali Khan's Bihari accent in Atrangi Re: Khan is a relatively new name in the film industry, which is why many were surprised that she was handed such a complex role to play, which not only required her to sport a Bihari accent, but also do justice to a character with mental health issues. Her accent as the Bihar-born and bred Rinku comes and goes irregularly, failing completely when the actor has to deliver longer emotional dialogues.

Anushka Sharma's British accent in Sanju : Anushka Sharma who plays the role of the writer who is going to publish a book revolving around Sanjay Dutt's life in a biopic based on him had faced a lot of criticism over her hair and British accent in the movie.

Views expressed are the author's own.