Aware of her roots
Kajal Aggarwal, who is debuting alongside Ajay Devgan in Rohit Shetty’s Singham, is not interested in giving up her Southern actor tag.
The actress says, “I will never be disrespectful to the Telugu and Tamil film industries. I have been brought up to respect my roots. I owe my acting career to them.”
The Mumbai-based actress reportedly stirred up a controversy down South when she said she doesn’t consider herself to be a South Indian actress, as she is Punjabi by birth.
Following these reports, angered Tamil and Telugu producers issued statements saying they will ban the actress from working in South Indian films. Reacting to the alleged ban, Kajal says, “I'm really hurt and angry that someone has started this whole ‘ban’ issue without bothering to speak to me.”
She goes on to say, “I was shooting for the Telugu film Dhada with Nagarjuna’s son Naga Chaitanya in Germany when these rumours started. I have not heard from any association wanting to ban me because I guess, everyone in a position of power knows the truth.”
Kajal asserts that she will not give up South films even if she gets more Hindi film offers. The actor, who has worked for four years and acted in over 21 films, says, “I plan to continue with my South films simultaneously with Hindi projects. There is no question of choosing one over the other. I am working with the best talent there. Why would I give it all up?”
The actress reveals that director Rohit Shetty spotted her in Telugu film Magadheera and offered her Singham. She says, “Language wasn’t a problem. But I was reserved in the initial days. Rohit and Ajay’s pranks made me loosen up.”
