Another actor speaks on the Hindi debate

“Pushing it down somebody's throat, I do not subscribe to that.” Roja actress Madhoo shares her thoughts about the language debate with Brut.

Transcript

00:00We should not be like, Hindi is my national language and that is it. It's an official language.

00:14My own personal experience is with Roja. It had released in 1992 in Tamil

00:19and was a big hit in Tamil, but only when it released in Hindi, it became a national hit.

00:30Everybody goes and watches a Shahrukh Khan film like a Shahrukh Khan film. It is never dubbed

00:35in a regional language and then people watch. I know for a fact that Hindi films are very,

00:41very popular in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and in the main cities. In the interiors,

00:48I think it doesn't do too well. That's probably because people are not taught the language

00:54and people are enjoying watching their own language films. Some of the most amazing

00:59films, art films come out of that industry, Kerala industry, and none of us have ever watched it.

01:06But now, by being subtitled or being dubbed, today we are all watching and you can see

01:12Dhulkar Salman is doing amazing movies and those films are getting a new light.

01:20This is not a moment to actually fight. Everybody is getting to actually come out

01:25of their own states and reach a larger audience. It's a moment to celebrate.

01:30In the South, I don't know, the government has always opposed the Hindi language very,

01:37very vociferously, as I understand. I know that for a fact, even many years ago,

01:42there was this whole thing about Hindi not being in school, Hindi not taught.

01:46How has it served Indians? I mean, you are calling yourself South Indian, North Indian,

01:51but we are Indians. How has it served you? By you not knowing one of your own languages.

02:03I again say that I'm ignorant. I do not know that why Hindi is being used so largely,

02:10but that is our history. Hindi is being used largely. And if you're living in India,

02:15and you're an Indian, and you do not know Hindi very well, not very well, even to get by,

02:21then who is suffering? Whose disability it is? It is our disability. But at the same time,

02:27somebody saying that this has to be learned. This is our, you're like a freedom fighter and

02:33pushing it down somebody's throat. I do not subscribe to that. This language based divisive

02:39debate actually beats me. We all know that there are channels dedicated where all language movies

02:46are being dubbed in Hindi and all of us are enjoying different movies in Hindi language.

02:52So why should there be a recent debate or an argument or resistance? I would imagine why?

02:59Probably because of the grand success of movies like Bahubali and recently RRR, etc.

03:07Hindi is an official language. So is English and so is many other languages. I think 24 or 26

03:14languages are official languages, depending upon the state. And like I repeat myself again and

03:19again, the purpose of a language is to be understood and to express yourself to a larger audience.

03:24Hindi has been accepted by people. So hence the people in governance should not use it for any

03:31other purpose or in a divisive way or polarize our country by making a debate or an argument.

03:38So we should not be like, Hindi is my rashtrabhasha and that is it. It's an official

03:44language. It's serving its purpose very well. And we should leave it at that.