Vijay Deverakonda criticizes English dominance, advocates for global rise of Hindi and Telugu cinema: ‘Brad Pitt does a film he will..’
Vijay Deverakonda joined actress Kareena Kapoor Khan on stage at the ongoing World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit held in Mumbai. During the pre-lunch session, filmmaker and producer Karan Johar moderated the discussion, where Vijay commented, “This feels too formal and serious.”
Discussion on India’s Cultural Influence
The discussion covered a variety of topics, including India’s influence as a cultural force and Kareena’s well-known declaration of self-love, “Main apni favourite hoon!” Movies starring Kareena, like ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham’ and ‘3 Idiots’, have reached audiences far beyond the Indian community, gaining popularity across the globe.
Kareena’s Memorable Encounter
Kareena recalled a special moment when Steven Spielberg approached her at a restaurant and asked, “Are you that girl in that famous Indian film about the three students?” When asked which Indian movie she would choose to present to the global audience, she picked Jab We Met. She explained, “It embodied the spirit of the young Indian girl. My character, Geet, had that spark and dream in her eyes that every Indian girl does. It will surely connect with everyone in the world.”
Vijay Deverakonda’s Critique
Suddenly adopting a serious tone, Vijay criticized Western imperialism for enforcing English as the dominant language. He said, “I hope this does not get me into trouble, but I feel we need to expand our kingdom. That all of us are conversing in English is a big soft power win for the West because they came in hundreds of years ago and made sure all of us were speaking and writing in their language. Now it’s too late to backtrack.”
The Impact of English Dominance on Indian Cinema
The Telugu actor passionately expressed his thoughts, saying, “Because some buggers did this 200-300 years ago for whatever purpose, now Hollywood has the biggest budgets because all of us know and watch films in English.” He highlighted the disparity in earnings, adding, “If I do a film and Brad Pitt does a film, he will get paid 100x more than me just because more people watch in his language. Which is not my fault but the fault of some guys who went and spread that language.”
Vijay Highlights Brad Pitt’s Earnings
The actor pointed out that Hollywood enjoys some of the largest film budgets worldwide. He explained, “Because some buggers did this 200-300 years ago for whatever purpose, now Hollywood has the biggest budgets because all of us know and watch films in English.” Using Brad Pitt as an example, Vijay remarked, “If I do a film and Brad Pitt does a film, he will get paid 100x more than me just because more people watch in his language. Which is not my fault but the fault of some guys who went and spread that language.”
