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Bollywood Superstar Salman Khan's recent release Sikandar was one of the much-awaited flicks. Despite the hype and Eid release, Sikandar managed to collect Rs 129.92 crores in its 29-day run. While a section of the audience was unimpressed with the movie, during the promotions, Sallu remarked that 'South doesn't watch Bollywood films'. Well, recently, Tollywood's Natural Star Nani rejected Salman Khan's claim and asked, 'Superstar kaise ban gaye?'
Must Read: Srinidhi Shetty breaks silence on 'being a flowerpot' in Yash and Prashanth Neel's KGF franchise
Nani On Importance of Bollywood Films in South
During a conversation with DNA India, when the HIT 3 actor was asked about the perceived lack of importance of Hindi films in the South, Nani said, "That (Hindi cinema) is original; this (South cinema) came later. The love South cinema is receiving now is recent. But the love Bollywood has received in the South has been there for decades."
Further, he added, "If you ask anyone there, ‘What’s your favourite Hindi film?’, they will have childhood memories of Amitabh Bachchan. They’ll talk about so many films. We always watched Hindi films — Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil Toh Pagal Hai were blockbusters in Hyderabad and other southern states. Everyone is now lapping up South films, but Hindi cinema was always embraced across the country.”
Nani Rejects Salman Khan's Statement
Furthermore, Nani rejected Salman's claim and highlighted how culturally significant his films are in the South.
Nani said, "Nahi, waha nahi chale? Bina chale kaise superstar ban gaye? 100% chalti hai (No, they didn’t work there? How did they become superstars without succeeding? They definitely work 100%), and we all love him."
"We’ve all watched so many of Salman’s films. Movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! hold cultural importance there. Didi Tera Devar Deewana and other songs — we used to play them at our weddings,” he added.
What Did Salman Say?
Notably, earlier, during the promotions, Salman said, "When my film is released there, it doesn’t get the numbers because their fan following is very strong. I’ll walk on the street, and they’ll say, ‘Bhai, Bhai’, but they won’t go to the theatres."
"The way we’ve accepted them here hasn’t happened there. Their films do well because we go and see them — like those of Rajinikanth sir, Chiranjeevi garu, Suriya or Ram Charan. But their fans don’t go to see our films,” he added.
Notably, Salman's first-time collaboration with AR Murugadoss and the director's Bollywood comeback, and the first-time on-screen pairing of Sallu with Rashmika Mandanna, made Sikandar one of the most hyped films.
Sikandar also starred Kajal Aggarwal, Sathyaraj, Sharman Joshi and Prateik Smita Patil. Despite the involvement of several notable figures from the South industry, Sikandar failed to impress the audience.
Related Story: After Drishyam, Rajkummar Rao and Nani crossover on cards in HIT-Verse!
Nani's Professional Front
Currently, Natural Star Nani is gearing up his upcoming action-thriller HIT 3, scheduled for release on May 1. Helmed by Sailesh Kolanu, the film also stars KGF fame Srinidhi Shetty.
