Actor Amyra Dastur, part of a growing cohort of actors from Mumbai who have worked in southern films, says there is no longer a North-South divide even if regional film industries have some unique characteristics.
Dastur, who features in the upcoming Kung Fu Yoga along with Jackie Chan, was speaking at the first India Today Conclave South at a special panel along with actors Tamannaah and Shriya Saran – other actors who have made the shift into southern cinema – and Manju Warrier.
“There is not really a North-South divide. Three of us are from Mumbai and working in the South. The divide is disintegrating in a way,” she said.
Asked what she had learned from her experience in the South film industry, she said, “The first thing I learned was that there was padding everywhere! Even in your thighs!”, her candid response drawing laughter.
On working with Jackie Chan in the upcoming Kung Fu Yoga, Dastur said, “He’s an absolutely brilliant person. For a superstar at thatlevel, he’s one of the most humble people you’d ever meet. He does so much for the environment and charities. We’d all sit at one table and eat dinner, lunch together. I taught him a few bad words in Hindi. I told him it meant namaste. And he went to Sonu Sood in the morning and said the bad word!”
