Vijay Deverakonda reacts to controversy over his “Tribals” remark at Retro event

Following the unanimous positive response to Kingdom’s impactful teaser and the film’s recently released first single, Tollywood heartthrob Vijay Deverakonda has been making headlines for the last few weeks. However, in an unexpected development, Vijay Deverakonda’s speech at the pre-release event of Suriya’s Retro in Hyderabad has become controversial.

On Friday, a few members of the Tribal Lawyers Association lodged a case against Vijay Deverakonda under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act at the SR Nagar police station. They alleged that Vijay’s reference to the Pak-sponsored terrorists and addressing them as “tribals” is “insensitive and dangerous.” They also demanded an unconditional apology from Vijay Deverakonda.

Taking to X on Saturday morning, Vijay Deverakonda reacted to the controversy over his speech. “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,” Vijay posted.

Explaining further, Vijay said he was only speaking about unity. “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 organized 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 formalized only in the mid-20th century — not even 100 years ago,” Vijay posted.

Vijay went on to say that he expresses his sincere regret if any part of his message was misunderstood or hurtful. “My only aim was to speak of peace, progress, and togetherness. I remain committed to using my platform to uplift and unify – never to divide,” said the Kingdom actor.