Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 26: Actor Dhanush has reiterated his long-held view that Indian films should not be divided into North or South cinema, but should collectively be recognised as Indian cinema.

The actor shared his views during an appearance on the popular talk show ‘Koffee With Karan’, where he arrived with actress Sara Ali Khan to promote their film ‘Atrangi Re’. Host and filmmaker Karan Johar asked Dhanush whether he believed Indian films should move beyond labels such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema and instead be celebrated as Indian cinema.

“Are you also of that opinion that we should all collectively look at ourselves as the products of Indian cinema and not regional anymore?” Karan asked.

Responding to the question, Dhanush recalled expressing similar views in 2013 while promoting his Bollywood debut ‘Raanjhanaa’. He said films should not be categorised as North or South productions and stressed that he should simply be referred to as an actor rather than a South Indian actor.

“Indeed, I said it long back in 2013 when I was promoting ‘Raanjhanaa’. I said the same thing. I should be like, don't call it North films, South films, it should be like an Indian film. I am an Indian actor. Don't write, when you write about me, don't write ‘South actor Dhanush’. I'm just an actor, that's it,” he said.

Speaking about ‘Atrangi Re’, Dhanush said the film held special significance for him because it was directed by Aanand L. Rai, whom he referred to as his brother. He added that every film he worked on was important to him.

“I don't see this as a very important film for me in Hindi, directed by my brother, so it is a very important film that way. Every film I do is very important for me,” he said.

Directed by Aanand L. Rai and written by Himanshu Sharma, ‘Atrangi Re’ was backed by T-Series Films, Colour Yellow Productions and Cape of Good Films. Besides Dhanush and Sara Ali Khan, Akshay Kumar also features in the film’s principal cast.