Highlights
- Nani says he wants The Paradise to be recognised as a Telugu film rather than labelled “pan-Indian”
- The actor questions why films such as Jawan and Pathaan are still identified as Hindi films when they succeed across India
- Nani says this is the “last time” he will address the debate and claims parts of the media take his comments out of context
Nani is once again addressing the debate around the term “pan-Indian”, saying he would rather The Paradise be recognised for the language it was made in.
The Telugu star has repeatedly pushed back against the label ahead of the release of Srikanth Odela's The Paradise. His latest comments focus on what he sees as an uneven way of describing films from different Indian-language industries.
Why Nani questions the ‘pan-Indian’ label
Speaking to the media in Chennai, Nani explained why he does not want The Paradise to be described as a pan-Indian film.
"I really don't want any film to be called pan-Indian," he said, explaining that the term does not make sense to him.
Nani pointed to Hindi films such as Jawan and Pathaan as examples. Even when those films perform strongly in Tamil and Telugu versions, he noted, they continue to be described as Hindi films.
"But when a Telugu film or a Tamil film or a Kannada film does well, across the country, it is called a pan-Indian film," he said.
That distinction, according to Nani, is why he has continued to question the terminology.
"Why is it introduced for the South Indian films? Why is it not for the Hindi films?" he asked.
Nani stressed that he still wants his films to reach audiences across languages, including Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada. His objection is specifically to attaching the “pan-Indian” tag to them.
Nani wants The Paradise recognised as a Telugu film
Nani's latest comments also underline how he wants The Paradise to be identified.
In a social media post addressing the debate again, he argued that every language deserves credit. He used RRR and Kantara to illustrate his point, asking whether it would be right to describe those films as belonging to another Indian language simply because they found audiences there.
"In the same context, I want The Paradise to be RECOGNISED as a Telugu film," he wrote.
His argument is not that the film should only reach Telugu-speaking audiences. In fact, Nani said expanding his films to audiences in other languages will continue to be part of his process.
"I can't stop everyone from calling films pan-Indian," he said. "But that word doesn't make sense to me."
He added that he can only request people not to use the label.
‘This is the last time I’m addressing this’
Nani also appeared keen to put an end to the recurring discussion.
"This is the LAST TIME I'm addressing this," he said in the post, while also expressing frustration about how his comments are reported.
"Whatever I say, a SECTION OF THE MEDIA portrays it OUT OF CONTEXT," he wrote.
The actor has previously acknowledged that he cannot control how others choose to describe his films. His position, however, remains consistent: he wants The Paradise to be recognised as a Telugu film while still reaching audiences across India.
The debate comes as Nani prepares for the release of The Paradise, his upcoming action drama directed by Srikanth Odela. Rather than rejecting audiences outside the Telugu market, his comments are focused on how the film is described and credited within India's multilingual film industry.
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