Actor Vijay Deverakonda had some strong sentiments to share at the pre-release event of Suriya-starrer Retro in Hyderabad while talking about the Pahalgam terror attack.

He spoke how terrorists are 'brainwashed', asking Indians to 'stand united' in the face of this tragedy.

Vijay Deverakonda on Kashmir

Vijay mentioned how he believes education is important against brainwashing to curb terror. He said in Telugu and English, "The solution to what is happening in Kashmir is also to educate them (terrorists) and ensure they don't get brainwashed. What will they achieve? Kashmir belongs to India, and Kashmiris are ours. Two years ago, I shot for Kushi in Kashmir. I have such good memories with them (the locals)."

He then hit out at Pakistan, claiming that the country's citizens are unhappy due to a lack of resources, "Pakistan can't even look after their own, who don't have proper electricity and water. What do they want to do here? India doesn't even need to attack Pakistan because Pakistanis themselves are fed up with their government and will attack them if this continues. They behave like tribals did 500 years ago with the way they fight. We should stand united as people and love each other. We always need to move forward as people and stay united. Education is super key. Let's all be happyand keep our parents happy; only then can we progress."

While some people on the internet agreed with Vijay's statement and praised his 'guts' for talking about this publicly, few others trolled him for talking politics at a movie event.

Upcoming work

Vijay was last seen in the 2024 film The Family Star with Mrunal Thakur opposite him. He also had a cameo as Arjuna in the Prabhas-starrer Kalki 2898 AD. He is currently working on Gowtam Tinnanuri's Kingdom, a yet-to-be-titled project by Rahul Sankrithyan. Karthik Subbaraj directs Suriya-starrer Retro, which will be released in theatres on May 1.