Bigg Boss Telugu
Bigg Boss Telugu.PR Handout

Telugu superstar Junior NTR enjoys a good fan following in Karnataka, and has been getting closer to the Kannada audience for some years now. Now, his latest act in Bigg Boss Telugu has given a strong reason for Kannadigas to treat him like one of their own.

The host spoke in Kannada on the Telugu reality show. "Kannadalli chennage mathadta edira neevu ...avaru kannada davara neevu kannadavara (meaning: You are speaking well in Kannada. Who among the two is a Kannadiga?)," Junior NTR was seen asking Hariteja. "We both are Kannadigas," she responded.

He added, "My mother too is a Kannadiga and is from Kundapur."

The video and the audio of his comments have now gone viral on social media. Kannadigas online have praised the Tollywood star for speaking their language on a Telugu show.

Mother tongue?

Junior NTR's mother Shalini was born in Kundapura in the Udupi district of Karnataka, but was brought up in Hyderabad. She is the second wife of his father Harikrishna, the elder brother of actor-politician Balakrishna.

The actor shares a good rapport with a couple of Sandalwood stars like Puneeth Rajkumar and Sudeep. It may be recalled that he had also sung the song "Geleya geleya" in the Power Star's Chakravyuha.

Meanwhile, Mahesh Kaththi and Kalpana have been eliminated last weekend from Bigg Boss Telugu, which started on July 16. Actor Navdeep has entered the show as a wild-card contestant.