Akshay Kumar opens up on North vs South divide: Why can’t we be called one industry?

Since then, there has been a Twitter discussion going on between Ajay Devgn and Kiccha Sudeepa, where several celebrities were heard giving their take on this language debate and also the South vs North film industries. Akshay Kumar, who is currently promoting Prithviraj, said in a group media interaction that he doesn't believe in this divide and the actor hates it when someone says "South or North" film industry.

On being quizzed about this language debate, Akshay stated, "I don’t believe in this divide. I hate it when someone says, 'South industry and the North'. We are all one industry, and that is what I believe. I think we should stop asking this question. It is important that we understand that this is how Britishers rule us: by dividing us. We have never learnt our lessons. We still do not understand this part. I think the day we realise that we are one industry, things will start working better for us."

The Khiladi of Bollywood went on to say that this debate is happening all over again and several of them are victims of it. Akshay said, "We are all trying to do our work. It is unfortunate that this debate is happening and we are all becoming victims of it. Why can’t we be called one industry? Why are we being called the North and South industries? All our languages are good. We are talking about our mother tongues, and they are all beautiful. It is unfortunate that we keep dividing ourselves."

The film Prithviraj, directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi, will not only be released in Hindi but also in Tamil and Telugu languages. When asked if this film can also be called pan-Indian, Akshay said, "I have no idea what is going to happen. I hope everything runs, it's important for the film industry. I am keeping my fingers crossed. And this word 'pan-India' is something I don't understand."

Prithviraj is slated for release on June 3, 2022.