Priyanka Chopra starrer biopic of boxer MC Mary Kom came into limelight once again after Lovlina Borgohain won the bronze medal in Tokyo Olympics. The film was again criticised for the unauthentic casting decisions since Jamshedpur born Priyanka and Haryana born Darshan Kumar played northeastern characters in it. Director Omung Kumar has defended the casting by stating that his actors did a marvelous job playing the characters.

He said, "An actor can mould themselves into any character and that’s what Priyanka Chopra did beautifully. That’s why the film was so effective."

Omung Kumar also tried to supported his claims with examples but they weren't really applicable in this scenario. He said, "I have promoted Manipur the way no one else has, and I am proud of it. I gave a lot of Manipuri actors inroads to Bollywood through the film. The film’s reach also has to be considered while casting. We did look at a lot of Northeastern actors for the parts played by Priyanka and Darshan Kumaar too but no one suited the role. People think Darshan, who hails from Haryana, was from Manipur (laughs). So, if they suit the part, an actor can play any role. Amitabh Bachchan played Anthony Gonsalves without being Christian. If there is a South Indian character in the film, there’s no hard and fast rule that states we have to cast a South Indian actor only in the role."