We are sidelined in Bollywood: Sudeep
Popular Kannada actor Sudeep, who debuted in Bollywood with Ram Gopal Varma's Phoonk (2008), then had a rold in Rann, the ongoing Phoonk 2 and the trilingual Rakta Charitra, alleged that actors from Karnataka and Kerala are totally sidelined by Hindi filmgoers.
"Somehow, I feel South Indian actors are not that well known in the Hindi belt. Tamil and Telugu actors have an upper hand. But Kannada and Kerala are totally sidelined by Hindi filmgoers. I don’t want to blame anyone for this state of affairs. It’s just that Kannada cinema hasn’t grown. But let’s be fair. There are filmmakers like Ramu (Ram Gopal Varma) to give us a chance. I didn’t come to Mumbai looking for a career. I think it was basically Ramu’s trust in my abilities that prompted me to get on that flight from Bangalore to Mumbai," the actor was quoted as saying.
In Rakta Charitra, being made in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil with Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi and Tamil actor Suirya in lead roles, Sudeep plays the role of a DCP. Talking about the film, he said: "It’s a modern-day Mahabharata, with Shatrughan Sinha, Vivek Oberoi, Zarina Wahab, Raj Babbar, Suriya and Ranjeet playing major roles. This five-hour-long film will release in two parts, each of two-and-a-half hours’ duration. The second part will be released 30 days after the first."
