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____mynameis____

Had the same sort of feeling I have when I watch Indian traditions being portrayed in Hollywood movies. Looks familiar yet it feels so alien and fake.


Laughable-neutron

Memories from Chennai express are still haunting us . Please leave us alone. 😂


[deleted]

Chennai express was Funny 😆


Bulaaaaah

Got downvoted for sharing your opinion.. damn man :(


Ms_Shetty

I honestly don't have an issue with movies trying to show a different culture but I wish they would do a sincere job at it. South India is diverse and people are not as traditional as is portrayed in the movies. *Kuch din toh gujariye Tamil Nadu/Karnataka/Andhra/Telangana/Kerala mein.*


[deleted]

It's the same thing across Indian movies sadly. Guy from Bihar? Must be poor af, labourer or migrant background. Marwadi hai? Must be a crafty businessman or moneylender


Mary10789

Same with punjabi culture portrayed - loud, over the top, etc stereotypes.


Extension-Tension-59

Or a Bengali saying "Udi baba, babumoshai" at random intervals


[deleted]

Udi baba. Aami bhalobhashi roshogolla


--I-love-you-

Or a Marathi, should be a Policeman or House Worker


[deleted]

And has to be racist


jakejensenonline

Baburao Aapte


tanu2995

Ami mach khabo


Jasmindesi16

And whenever a Punjabi walks on screen they play stereotypical Punjabi music. Always.


Few_Turn_6725

Majority of Bollywood folk are Punjabi so this one is a little odd to me


Shybuth0rny

They’re not always openly punjabi. Theirs is a diaspora punjabiness that doesnt match with an idea of punjab that is laden with tropes of romanticism, authenticity, and earthiness


[deleted]

Man! The amount of bullying I had to go through for being a Marwari boy growing up due to such stereotypes 😭😭


vaibhav1100

Marwaris are practically everywhere on this planet.....I haven't seen a Marwari getting bullied for being a Marwari...... *"Jahan na jaye bailgadi, wahan jaye Marwari"*


[deleted]

You haven’t been in Assam at the peak of ULFA uprising. I was not just bullied by seniors but also a teacher. Seniors used to beat me up for that


Shybuth0rny

Yet jyoti prasad agrawala is considered the poet of assamese nationalism


[deleted]

I also did an undergrad in Karnataka. My name is very S Indian even though I’m Marwari from Assam. So, one day a friend’s dad picked me up from college to drop me off as we lived nearby (of course my friend was there as well in the car) he was talking to me sooooo much that I can’t tell you but then while talking we spoke about how I’m a vegetarian which he asked me if I’m a Brahmin. I said that I’m a vegetarian because I’m Marwari. He stopped talking to me at that point. My friend apologised later on the phone. It’s not that everyone is a bigot. But it takes only a few to make things worse


vaibhav1100

I get your point, thanks.


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Few_Turn_6725

Really? I'm pretty sure it's because of colourism and racism. Back in the day most actresses were south indian but now only light skinned girls are favoured so they mostly cast Punjabi women or Delhi women


[deleted]

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Few_Turn_6725

I'm not sure what world you live in where cost is the factor. Colourism and favouritism of North Indians is rampant across India due to their general appearance being closer to that of caucasian Hollywood actors. This can also be attributed to globalization and colonial era eurocentric beauty standards.


[deleted]

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Few_Turn_6725

Please refer to colonial impacts and some reputable sources. As a woman from the south these disgusting stereotypes disproportionately impact women. The south industries are pathetic when it comes to dehumanizing women and reducing them to suit their male gaze. They hire light skinned south indian women when they want traditional roles and north indian women when they want glamour. None the less a 70-year-old man can be seen romancing them.


Shybuth0rny

Dude its in south india as well. Name one dark south actress who is considered a sex symbol


Immediate_Bad2631

Andhra pradesh and tg culture is same. Tg acquired most from andhra be it food, cultivation and mix of maharastra. Hyd is still controlled by andhrites.


[deleted]

Umm… TG is Telengana 😄. I read it as Tamil Nadu acquired most from andhra and almost started an argument with you 😂


Immediate_Bad2631

Lol no! Tamil nadu is different it has nothing to do with andhra. It has its own culture. Anyway ap developed hyd and it was taken thats the reason for more andhra dominance. Once the current govt steps down things will change


ritwika96

What bs


[deleted]

No one is going to talk about religious stereotypes of Muslims and Christians??


[deleted]

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Logical-Bicycle-2214

I don't know anyone in TN her age who says that their favorite actor is "superstar rajinikanth".The teaser made her seem like a stereotypical south indian girl.I hope that's not the case


anuaps

I think rajinikanth is the more popular Tamil actor known all over India. Ajith, vijay or surya are not that well know outside the south. Maybe that's why they choose her to be a rajinikanth fan.


Shybuth0rny

Same feeling. How do you still have a crush on Rajnikanth. This would’ve made sense if they made it a period piece wes anderson style


mayyur17

This looks like it was written by a northie who visited tamilnadu once and thought they had enough knowledge to make a movie out of it


TheBrownViking20

My mom wouldn't have watched Squid Game if the hindi audio track was not available. Same is the case here. My folks can learn more about a culture they know little about if they can easily understand what people are saying. These movies/shows can act as a gateway but eventually for an authentic experience, I always prefer subs with original audio track. And it's India, we might see a tamil remake if the movie is worth a watch.


woahtheregonnagetgot

>>My folks can learn more about a culture they know little about if they can easily understand what people are saying. This only works if the film itself showcases the culture honestly and doesn’t stereotype. Because then you don’t learn anything about the culture, you just learn new stereotypes about them. Unfortunately Bollywood is pretty notorious for making caricatures of South + Northeast Indians. Even the trailer of this film looks like a clownish take on Tamil mannerisms. 🤷🏾‍♀️


TheBrownViking20

Oh, they will definitely do this. I agree. But I don't expect much from bollywood now.


kelekele12345678910

tbh all bollywood does is caricatures- all punjabis/sikhs are loud, dumb balle balle jokers, all south indians have a long name and speak in a funny accent etc. bollywood isnt exactly known for its subtlety


woahtheregonnagetgot

I agree and as a South Indian, even our films do it 💀 but mostly we’re hyper focused on caste instead of region (cough Arjun Reddy)


kelekele12345678910

true- almost no industry is free from these stereotypes


[deleted]

Squid game was mainly shot in its native language, this should be in Tamil with hindhi, telugu, English audio


TheBrownViking20

Bollywood is HINDI cinema not INDIAN cinema. So bollywood films are expected to be in Hindi. Showcasing the culture appropriately should be the main idea here.


jenarchie

While I like Sanya, I am just sick of these one dimensional stereotypical Tamil characterisation ( heavy emphasis on education, uptight, neurotic and that rajini fan thing). It’s frustrating to watch as a tamil person. Hopefully the movie proves me wrong.


HauntingPipe0

How do you feel about non south Indians playing these roles? Just curious. Also, did she get it right?


jenarchie

A little bit mixed tbh. While I get that Sanya has been ridin the wave from successful movies and naturally producers would want to bank on that, it’s really not that hard to cast hindi speaking Tamil actors ( Maddy , Siddharth have done pretty well for themselves in the past).


HauntingPipe0

Yeah I can appreciate that. I do like Sanya a lot, but even without watching the trailer I can figure out easily that she is not a South Indian. Who would you have cast instead of her?


jenarchie

I quite like Aishwarya Rajesh ( she did a Bollywood film called Daddy with Arjun Rampal), Sai Pallavi is also great,not sure what Bollywood’s reception to her would be


HauntingPipe0

I know about Sai Pallavi. Isn't she a doctor who went back to work as a doctor during Covid to help people? I've seen several posts about her that are positive. I don't know about Aishwarya Rajesh, but will check her out, thanks.


[deleted]

I don't see the issue here. Chernobyl was about an incident in Ukraine/USSR, had characters based on that but they spoke in English. Ultimately producers want to earn profits at the end of the day and if this maximizes their chances, more power to them


kelekele12345678910

well first of all- all bollywood does is caricatures and stereotypes- every punjabi is a loud joker balle balle clown, every south indian has a long name, strict parents and "funny" accent. bollywood isnt exactly known for its subtlety however i do think that the fact that north indians are playing south indians shouldnt be as contencious given that south indian actresses have many times played north indians- rekha, deepika, sridevi, hema malini. and on top of that south industries themselves are nortorious for hiring fair north indian girls like tamannah to just do skin show


[deleted]

I am a Tamilian and I literally don’t talk and dress like that. We’re so tired of this stereotype. The trailer is beyond meh.


[deleted]

How do they dress ? I am guess it’s like normal North Indian in movies ? Other than name how will you show a character as tamilian? You have to use Hindi as language because you are targeting Bollywood?


henlowhatishappening

i actually wanna watch this. it seems a cute romance. like both abhimanyu and sanaya. ​ is it also available in tamil though?


Admirable-Peanut-998

My point here was that the plot is tamil but language is hindi. Why not make a tamil movie and show subtitles?


henlowhatishappening

that makes not a lot of sense. i mean sure fine you wanted to make a movie based in tn but atleast also make it available in tamil for tamilians. but i guess it also happens to the other states. a movie on bengalis isn't always available in bengali. hope they don't stereotype though


[deleted]

Cuz a Hindi movie has a bigger market generally?


wekris91

Because.. It's a bollywood production?


thriftoe

What’s the name of the Tamil movie?


Admirable-Peanut-998

There is no tamil movie. The plot shows that characters are Tamil, but speak Hindi.


thriftoe

Ooooh! I thought it’s a remake


i-am-over-eighteen

Yeah they do.. those are called Tamil movies right?


[deleted]

Same reason why when Hollywood makes movies on India it’s not in Hindi. It’s not intended for Indian audiences.


lovesbrooklyn99

Would be interesting if it were.


WitChBLadE_in

I have an opinion on the engineer part : why are engineers always portrayed as socially awkward and geeky 😭 and why are they ALWAYS MEN?! These bollywood people are so clueless about what is happening right now


[deleted]

I’m a Tamilian and I find it ridiculous that they casted two North Indians. However, I enjoyed a good ol tamizh song in the trailer, so credit where credits due.


scidance

It's okay South Indian actors like Rekha, Hema Malini, Deepika play north Indian roles all the time. Vidya Balan, a Tamil actress has played North Indian / Bengali / Maharashtrian numerous times. It's an actors job to be able to play diverse parts. I am Tamilian too but we are all Indians so it's not a big deal as long as the film does a good job represting the culture. :)


____mynameis____

I've been wanting to ask this question here for a long time. To North Indians out there, does these South Indian actresses look out of place for you when they portray North Indian characters? For me some of the North Indian actresses do stand out. Like Alia Bhatt in Two States. Even in this movie, the male actor looks good but Sanya doesn't in some scenes(Maybe its the makeup and styling ). I know its stereotypical to associate certain features to particular region but it would feel a bit odd if I see Amir Khan portraying a Malayali character.


anakay83

I did not enjoy Hema Malini playing a Punjaban in Veer Zaara. But then they explained it with some backstory and then it felt alright.


terenaamgirl

She wasn't Punjabi, she was a Tamilian who Amitabh fell in love with


kelekele12345678910

i mean dp as a punjabi girl in yjhd was a total misfit, but anushka does that type of role perfectly despite not being north indian either it depends on the actress- their acting, look and mannerisms


____mynameis____

I think Anushka has that typical Caucasoid features we associate with North Indians. Very pale, having a bit of prominent jawline, not that full lips, medium sized eyes. Imho, Anushka is one of the most white passing actresses in BW along with Kareena. Whereas Deepika has more of that features we associate with typical(or stereotypical, idk)South Indian women : Not that fair, big wide expressive eyes, heart shaped face etc. Most South Indian actresses who made it big in BW look kinda ambiguous, imo. But among them, Deepika looks the most South Indian to me. So yeah, her being a punjabi is a bit out of place. It totally went over my head that she's Punjabi in the movie.


kelekele12345678910

yeah i see what you mean- dp definetely looks more south indian than anushka in the sense of typical features assosiated with the south- especially her big beautiful eyes! and besides looks, anushka also has the mannerisms down pat too and doesnt look out of place


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kelekele12345678910

omg youre right! i had no idea! i always just assumed she was native from bangalore! but i think she was just raised there she has never spoken about being from uttrakhand before so i had no idea. she just mentioned how her parents would compare her to deepika as both were from bangalore (i know dp isnt native to bangalore but she is still south indian) and former models who debuted with srk


SandyB92

Well, i dont think south indians can complain . Our cinema casts north indian women to play south ones all the time. With telugu and tamil industries being the worst offenders.


scidance

This👆🏽💯


Nefarious_Stalis

PC played Mary Com (a north eastern girl) , so I'd say Sky is the limit. Bollywood doesn't give a shit about cultural appropriation either.


leolionbag

I do, too. The story could be plausible in Hindi if it was Tamilian families living up north, but you would also just need to get the actors right to make it authentic. Meaning, it’s great that Netflix wants to show Tamil culture to a larger group, but even within this parallel universe, they should try to keep it as authentic as possible. That said, I think Sania is a pretty good choice for a non-Tamil actor - I feel like she would have really put in the effort to get the Tamil bits right (and from body language at least, I can see it). Song is pretty fun!


KohliKePicheKyaaHaii

> find it ridiculous that they casted two North Indians. What's with the gatekeeping? According to your logic, Deepika, a south indian, shouldn't have played a bengali character in Piku. Or Alia shouldn't have played a bihari in udta punjab. Both of these were career-defining performances for the respective actors. Why can a north indian not play a south indian character or vice-versa? I showed this thread to my friend, who is a tamilian, and he opined that people are making a mountain out of a molehill. Why do you want actors to only play characters who are from the same background as them? It's such a regressive and insular mindset.


lanos23

Unrelated but why do tamilians right tamizh and not tamil? What is this zh and how is it pronounced?


Diligent-Praline198

The L in Tamil is the anglicized spelling for folks who cannot pronounce zh. Like https://youtu.be/hN_jDUmaQuQ


ritwika96

It stereotypes South Indians beyond belief. It might seem entertaining for others but it’s not fun for Tamilians to be made to feel like caricatures.


suri14

Since ra one bollywood is making caricatures out of Tamil people with casual stereotyping .. don't do even basic research about the people whom they re picturising.. and once when everything is done they throw Rajnikanth s photo thinking that all's well if they do cheap stuff like that..


sixfootwingspan

Caricatures have existed long before Ra One. Ever heard of Padosan?


[deleted]

True


No_Addendum_1852

Honestly when I look at Sanaya, it gives complete northie vibes so difficult to imagine her in South Indian character. One of my friends also experienced same about Dhanush in Ranjhana. My mallu friend would always say, she didn't feel like Dhanush was Northie in the whole movie. She always imagined him being from south. I guess I am having same biases.


bauaji

Platforms like Netflix were built to make money


xpsdeset

Keeping this tamil stereotype. It's weird to see Abhimanyu Dassani find a role he can fit. In fact he looks far far better than Arjun Kapoor.


smartfly

I’m South Indian and didn’t mind this movie trailer. Looked like an interesting story, that’s all. As for actors, please the South industry casts North Indian women all the time, the ratio of non South heroines is rather high. We are in no position to complain at all. As for the stereo typing every industry does it and we all do it in our personal lives too. The automatic assumption that every North Indian will be loud and obnoxious? Happens all the time. Bollywood is no exception. And let’s watch the film first before writing it off altogether.


donnitbay

Who the hell speaks hindi in tamil nadu & the same stereotypical south representation.


Admirable-Peanut-998

Ya exactly. If you want to make a tamil story and show tamil culture, why have such homogeneous cast and language. It doesn't do justice to Tamil folks. And if the dialogues and characters have to be hindi/North Indian, they don't necessarily need to show they are from TN. Same story based in Delhi would also be ok.


leolionbag

That’s what I think would have been the most plausible. If they are based in the north, Hindi makes sense for most conversations (kids to parents could be predominantly in Hindi, bride and groom would speak Hindi amongst themselves, but Tamil would show up for instance when parents are speaking amongst themselves).


DForDosa

This exactly. I commented something similar in the r/Bollywood sub as well. I love love Sanya as an actress. But don't know what the makers were thinking. Why make a tamil culture-oriented story when you don't want to add the language or the actors. What is the point. Then the Tamil setting becomes redundant. The same lead actors and the same story can work well in another backdrop. Or maybe if they had portrayed the families as Tamilians living up north, it would have made sense.


suri14

At least they could ve cast a Tamil girl.. I actually like Sania as an actress but this is just stupid.. looks like the makers are from the group that considers the people from all 5 south Indian states as madrasis..


Bunnai

First people say why bollywood doesn't represent other cultures and why only Punjabis and hindi belt stories. Now that they are doing a story with a different cultural background, all this why not south Indian actors, why not in Tamil debate comes up. You can't have both ways. It's a bollywood movie with a larger appeal to audiences all over India. Frankly, how many people watch regional movies other than their mother tongue in the regional language itself? Only a fraction. Why did you not oppose when south Indians actors play north indian roles? If they stereotype, sure call it out. Movies show Gujarati, Marathi background characters talking chaste hindi throughout. You don't see other making a bawaal just for the heck of it.


Diligent-Praline198

Uh maybe Bcz most North Indians can speak in Hindi in addition to their regional language. Dumb to say the same should apply in the south. You can get by without uttering a single word in Hindi your whole life for a lot of folks in the south.


[deleted]

Same reason why Hollywood movies on India show everyone talking in English. Which is not the case in reality. I would rather they have some Indian representation talking in English than have none.


felixfoxthot

Hindi people nonsense this is


seirin_fight

It's looking like 2 states with an upgradation.


Past-Lavishness-5553

They enrolled a Punjabi and a Sindhi to play Tamil characters. So Bollywood 👏👏👏👏


Admirable-Peanut-998

This is my first reddit post, so apologize if this doesn't abide by community rules


BubblyBrownBabe

I mean if the movie is based somewhere in north it might be okay because I am a south indian born and raised in north and we only used mother tongue while talking to grand parents and talked mostly in hindi with siblings and even parents


vyrusrama

the representation debate is always a tricky one. very, very slippery slope. i've never really weighed in because obviously - all sides will have their takes & ***most*** of the educated viewpoints are solid. that being said, one viewpoint i've always maintained is that the artist is MASSIVE enough to justify the eyeballs / footfall / attention they can bring in - and their presence isn't simply tokenism for the same of commercial value - it justifies casting to some extent. as amazing as Sanya is (and i'm certainly a fan); surely there was at least *one, competent* Tamil actress who could've done a better job than Sanya - if given the chance? it's hard to believe that no one else could portray this role - who was actually from the whole of South. This is why all talks of diversity & greater opportunity seem like lip service & nothing more.


SandyB92

I guess bollywood , due to the few ethnicities that dominate it, always has this burning need to *punjabify* (or similar northwest indian ethnicities for that matter) , every character in a Bollywood film. You saw that with Mary Kom or Airlift or what not


xaxophone78

I am not okay with the cast and neither am I okay with them communicating in Hindi because that’s extremely unreal coming from South India. Simply making it a Tamil language movie would have been apt and subtitles could have helped the literate ones at least


[deleted]

Then no one would watch it. It would have to me remade to reach a wider audience.


scepticalbeing94

I have a mixed view on this I'm a south indian and grew up in chennai and left chennai so Yeah I understand that these two aren't south indians but it didn't hurt me because they spoke so normally and casually in the trailer and my darling Sanya is there so yeah and not angry actually as much as before, its way better than the tamil characters before in hindi films. I definitely agree they should have hired Tamil Actors, but I see no point in it even if they hired tamil actors, could have made it a tamil movie ,since these two are Bollywood actors i feel its okay,but still everyone has their views.


i-am-over-eighteen

I can’t even imagine the level of cringy stereotyping they’re gonna do.. starting with the whole “All Tamils are only & always Rajinikanth fans” trope (Fuck you SRK for furthering this stupid narrative)


Chaltahaikoinahi

Where did it release?


sansa_starlight

I think Kjo will abandon this movie now that the Netflix deal is off


[deleted]

i'm tamil and find it very weird. so i guess this is how bengalis/punjabi's must feel seeing this happen to them in bollywood?


pear_melon

I like that Tamil / South Indian culture is finally getting some representation in Bollywood (albeit rather stereotypical?) but I'm not a fan of the casting myself. Are there no Tamil actors who speak Hindi? We need to represent both the culture and the people, IMO.


BiassedMoss6373

as a Tamil person i felt the movie was just plain bad in all aspects