Vijay Deverakonda issues an apology for his remark on tribals

New Delhi: Vijay Deverakonda shared an apology on Saturday after a police complaint was filed against him over alleged disrespectful remarks about tribal communities. The Telugu actor took to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) and expressed his regret and emphasised that he had absolutely no intention to hurt or target any community and to hurt anyone's sentiments. The actor has been accused of insulting the tribals and passing derogatory remarks against them during the Retro audio launch event that took place in Hyderabad on April 26, 2025. 

Actor Vijay Deverakonda shared a clarification over his remarks on social media, in which he wrote, 'It has come to my attention that a remark I made during the Retro audio launch event has caused concern among some members of the public. I wish to sincerely clarify: there was absolutely no intention to hurt or target any community, especially our Scheduled Tribes, who I deeply respect and consider an integral part of our country.

Liger actor also said, 'I was speaking about unity - about how India is one, our people are one, and how we must move forward together. In what world would I, while urging us to stand united as a country, deliberately discriminate against any group of Indians, all of whom I see as my family, like my brothers.

In his apology note, the actor clarified what he meant by the word tribe. He wrote, 'The word tribe, as I used it, was meant in the historical and dictionary sense - referring to a time centuries ago when human society globally was organised into tribes and clans, often in conflict. It was never a reference to the Scheduled Tribes classification, which was introduced during colonial and post-colonial India and formalised only in the mid-20th century - even 100 years ago.'

What did Vijay say at the Retro audio launch event?

The 35-year-old actor remarked on the recent Pahalgam terror attack at the pre-release event of the Tamil language film Retro starring Suriya and Pooja Hegde. He said, 'The solution to what is happening in Kashmir is to educate the terrorists and ensure that they are not brainwashed. Kashmir belongs to India and Kashmiris are ours. India does not even need to attack Pakistan because Pakistanis themselves are fed up with their government and if this continues, they will attack them. They behave like tribals 500 years ago, fighting without any sense.' 

For the unversed, Vijay was last seen in Parasuram's directorial The Family Star in 2024. The actor will be next seen in Gowtam Tinnanuri's directorial Kingdom opposite Bhagyashri Borse and Rukmini Vasanth in the lead roles.