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A speech meant to promote a film has now sparked a legal controversy for Tollywood star Vijay Deverakonda, who is accused of making casteist and derogatory remarks about tribal communities during the event. The actor has been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act by the Raidurgam police for comments made during the pre-release event of the Suriya-starrer Retro.
While commenting on the recent Pahalgam terror attack during his speech at the event, Deverakonda reportedly said, “The solution to what is happening in Kashmir is also to educate them (terrorists) and ensure they don’t get brainwashed... They behave like tribals did 500 years ago, fighting without any intelligence or even basic common sense.”
These remarks sparked outrage among tribal organisations, who accused the actor of equating tribal communities with terrorists and portraying them in a deeply offensive manner. A portion of the FIR reads, “Film actor Vijay Deverakonda made comments that hurt the sentiments of the tribal communities… He insulted them by saying that they behaved like people 500 years ago, without intelligence or common sense, and likened them to Pakistani terrorists."
The statement further noted that the remarks were widely circulated on social media and YouTube, with the video being shared by Sithara Entertainment’s channel, which has over 860,000 subscribers.
The complainant has demanded legal action against Deverakonda for allegedly damaging the dignity and self-respect of tribal communities. As of now, the actor has not responded to the allegations.