Manasi Parekh has won the Best Actress National Award for her 2023 Gujarati movie, Kutch Express. She shared the award with Nithya Menen, who has been recognized for her performance in the Tamil film ‘Thiruchitrambalam’. While social media is flooded with netizens wishing the two actresses for this remarkable achievement, let’s look at a throwback interview of Manasi with News18 Showsha when she spoke about ‘Kutch Express’, regional languages getting recognition and more:
‘Bollywood Stars Realising Importance of Regional Languages’
In January 2023 i.e. ahead of the release of ‘Kutch Express’, Manasi spoke to us and opened up about the expansion of regional cinema in India. She mentioned that even the big Bollywood stars are realising the importance of different languages and are therefore working on films made in other languages too. She also expressed confidence and opined that the term ‘Regional Cinema’ will soon become ‘Indian Cinema’.
“I don’t think the term regional cinema will be used (in the future). In fact, in one of his recent interviews, Hrithik Rohan said ‘I want to work in Indian cinema’ and he is a mainstream actor. Even mainstream Bollywood stars have realised the importance of different languages. The fact that there is a huge connection when a film is made in a particular dialect or in a particular regional language. Indian cinema is out in its glory and the more films are made with more diversity, and authenticity, the more our industry will have depth, range and layers. The term regional cinema might just become obsolete and it might all become ‘Indian cinema’. That is a great trend.”
‘Cannot Compare Gujarati Cinema To South Movies’
Manasi also talked about Gujarati cinema not getting recognition as of now and explained it is because the Gujarati film industry is comparatively very new. She mentioned that one cannot compare Gujarati films to South cinema because the former is hardly a decade-old film industry.
The South industry is a very old and established industry. They have been making incredible cinema for years and they have been so popular among their own language people that it is only recently that non-South Indian viewers are discovering their cinema. However, Gujarati cinema is still a very young industry. It is just a decade old. People are now discovering the fact that there are incredible stories that are waiting to be made in Gujarati. I cannot compare Gujarati cinema to South cinema but definitely, the trend is changing and it is for the good and in favour of Gujarati.
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