Actress Sahiba Bali Under Fire For Comments On Bengaluru English: ‘Please Don’t Generalise’

Bengaluru is frequently in the spotlight for traffic jams, water shortages and population. However, the focus shifted when Laila Majnu actress Sahiba Bali sparked controversy after her comment on how English is spoken differently in the city compared to other parts of India.

On the UNTRIGGERED podcast with Amin Jazayeri, the content creator highlighted how locals frequently use terms such as ‘it seems’ and ‘full hectic.’ Her comment garnered backlash on social media with many slamming her for commenting on their language.

During the podcast, she says, “In India, everywhere you go it’s different English, like Bengaluru English is very different. It seems they keep on saying, “I love it.”

With over 86 lakh views, the post managed to gather varied comments.

A user wrote, “She thinks 90% of North Indians have a British accent.”

Another shared, “At least Bengaluru uses ‘it seems,’ an English word but North Indians can’t speak English without words like ki, matlab, yaar, array.”

Echoing the same view another user said, “Being a Bangalorean I can with certainty tell you, that we don’t speak this way. Wonder whom they spoke to? Please don’t generalize things. It’s become cool to speak about accents of languages which need to stop.”

Another individual shared his thoughts and said, “Content creators have no more topics to talk about apart from Bengaluru. It’s either traffic, accent or weather.”

However, a few defended the actress, arguing that her comments were not meant to criticize the language but to highlight its uniqueness.

“I don’t know why people are getting offended in comments. They discuss how it is different from normal English literature. Every state has its own words, slang and phrases,” a comment read.

Another shared, “They are just expressing their love for the unique way we speak. Why this sudden hatred man? Why this sudden divide? It’s sad.”

Sahiba Bali is an actor from Kashmir known for her work in projects like Bard of Blood (2019), Tanaav (2022), and Laila Majnu (2018).