No north-south divide in content anymore: 'Badla' actor Tony Luke

Malayalam actor Tony Luke says the fact that his performance in his Hindi debut "Badla" was well-received reflects there is no divide between talent from north and south.

Tony made his acting debut in 2016 with the Malayalam movie "Oozham" and has since featured in three more films in south film industry.

"Today an actor has a future in the film industry because content rules. The North and South have come together. Now it's about Indian content versus the global, not North and South," Tony told PTI.

"There are people like Karan Johar and Rajamouli coming together, to make truly Indian cinema and the times are only going to change for the better," he added.

Tony said when the project came his way, he was initially reluctant to audition as he felt there was "no chance" he would make it.

"I thought my Hindi is bad, because I'm from the South so I didn't even believe I could be a part of it, until Sujoy met me and said 'you're the boy.' Sujoy decided to place me as an actor and I'm grateful for that. There's no heavy pressure on me to be a star," he said.

The actor said he feels "blessed" that he bagged the thriller, where his biggest takeaway was learning from megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

"If someone told me last year that I would be a part of a big film such as this, I would've laughed it off. To be on the set and watch Mr Bachchan perform is surreal. As an actor, you take away so much just by observing him and imbibing his energy."