Dubai: Rani Mukerji has claimed that her new movie ‘Aiyyaa’, which will be out in cinemas this Thursday, will break stereotypes that are attached to South Indians.
The trailers of the movie show a young Maharashtrian woman being subject to the rigours of an Indian arranged marriage and her voice about dark men being her idea of Mr Right is almost lost in the chaos that erupts when her matchmaking parents line-up a string of potential grooms for her to choose from.
“In this film, we have gone against the stereotypes attached to South Indians. In a Hindi film, you don’t see a South Indian as the hero of the film … I don’t think we have ever shown a Tamilian being looked upon as an object of desire either,” Gulf News quoted her as saying.
In the past, South Indian characters in Bollywood features have been employed as comic sidekicks.
Their distinct Hindi accents with “aiyoo” at the end of words and their sambar-guzzling habits have been derided for many years, but Rani claims that her North-South love story is going to change the way South Indians are perceived.
“In this wacky film, Surya is that quintessential tall, dark and handsome guy, which novelists and storytellers talk up in their romances. I hope sensible people start putting this word out there,” she said.
South Indian star Prithviraj, who makes his Bollywood debut with ‘Aiyyaa’, supports Rani wholeheartedly.
“In this film, everything about a South Indian — their culture, their skin colour and their lifestyle is presented as good and sexy,” Prithviraj said.
Both the actors say that the joke is not on South Indians but on the system of arranged marriages in India. Essentially, parents choose their children’s life partner by orchestrating meetings between two potential parties.
ANI
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