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Will Smith: Travelling to India awakened new understanding of myself

Hollywood star Will Smith says his trip to India awakened a new understanding of himself and the world around him.

The actor, who visited Haridwar to shoot for his Facebook Watch show Will Smith's Bucket List, took to Instagram Saturday to share the pictures of the experience.


"My Grandmother used to say, 'God Teaches through Experience'.

"Travelling to India and experiencing the colours, people and natural beauty has awakened a new understanding of myself, my art and the truths of the world," Smith captioned the series of photographs and a video, including that of the Ganga aarti.

For a previous episode, titled Will Smith's Bucketlist: Bollywood Dancing, Smith shot a Bollywood dance sequence, which he said, was a dream come true for him.

In his latest India tour, the actor also roamed around in an autorickshaw across the busy streets of Mumbai and got some dance lessons from actor Ranveer Singh and filmmaker Karan Johar.

Smith's dance sequence will also feature in Johar's upcoming production Student of the Year 2.

This was not the Hollywood star's first visit to the country.

In 2017, Smith had come to Mumbai for the promotion of Netflix film Bright. He also visited New Delhi for a conclave.

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Yash says Ravana in Ramayana must connect with Western viewers as film eyes global audience

Highlights

  • Yash says he humanised Ravana to help global audiences relate to the character.
  • Asura designs in the first glimpse drew criticism for looking too Western-inspired.
  • Producer Namit Malhotra compares the film's tone to Lord of the Rings and Gladiator.
Yash, who plays the demon king Ravana in Nitesh Tiwari's Ramayana, says his portrayal was shaped by one clear goal: making the character relatable beyond Indian audiences.
Speaking at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week, where the film was presented alongside major Hollywood releases, the actor said he worked to strip away the purely mythological reading of the role.

"I have tried to internalise the whole essence of Ravana and tried to make him as human as possible at times," Yash told Reuters.

"It is important for people to relate to him, and since we have global ambitions, we need to make it familiar to a Western audience as well."

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