Deepika Padukone's Piku, SRK's Devdas: When Non-Bengali Actors Played Bengalis to the T

Whether it’s Deepika Padukone in Piku, Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Devdas, Tabu in Namesake, Sushant Singh Rajput in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, or Tripti Dimri in Bulbbul, some of the most iconic Bengali characters in Bollywood films have actually been played by non-Bengali actors. While the accents and the mannerisms have been hit and miss depending on the film at hand, there’s no denying that these actors did a stellar job bringing the characters to life in their given context.

Most of these portrayals of Bengali characters have been respectful towards the cultures they represented, even though sometimes they might contribute to the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes. South Indian audiences, for example, have had a longstanding gripe with Bollywood for misrepresenting their culture in Hindi films.

While people have been appreciative of these actors’ portrayals, that has not been the case with Salman Khan’s song from upcoming film Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan. The ‘Yentamma’ song’s “nachenge apni, utha karke lungi” verse is getting flak, with South Indians pointing out that what Salman wears in the song is actually a veshti, not a lungi. While a lungi is a patterned casualwear for men, the veshti is usually a plain, more formal attire (a dhoti in Hindi).

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