00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:01 When I was a kid, I used to run away
00:04 from my culture in school.
00:06 It wasn't cool to be Indian.
00:08 But to break the mold, you have to enter it.
00:11 I thought, no, I'm going to go in,
00:12 and I'm going to double down.
00:13 I'm going to triple down on the culture.
00:15 It's vibrant.
00:17 And it can be cool.
00:18 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:21 [SPEAKING HINDI]
00:23 My grandfather used to tell me the stories of Hanuman
00:26 that really captivated me.
00:28 Being scolded for reaching too high and aspiring too big.
00:33 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:34 [SCREAMING]
00:35 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:38 I was like, I can take this and give it some real social weight.
00:42 You need to fight for all of us.
00:44 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:48 This is an anthem for underdogs.
00:50 The people that are pushed to the frays and the edges
00:52 swept to the side.
00:54 We need people that have gone through trauma to inspire us.
00:57 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:59 We try and give a voice to the voiceless, really.
01:01 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:05 Jordan Peele's mission in his company is to bend genre.
01:09 And that's what I wanted to do on the action genre.
01:11 I wanted to inject it with culture and philosophy.
01:14 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:19 The film takes place in the festival of Diwali
01:21 at the end, which is the festival of light,
01:24 the festival of fireworks in the Hindu calendar.
01:26 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:28 I was like, what would a guy do going into this huge compound
01:31 to face 100 men alone and not use a gun?
01:34 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:37 I just love that texture.
01:38 [MUSIC PLAYING]
01:42 There was a guy that came up to me yesterday, an Indian man.
01:44 And he goes, I'm jealous of my 14-year-old son.
01:47 And I was like, what do you mean?
01:48 He goes, he's finally got someone
01:49 to look up to in this space.
01:51 And I never had that.
01:52 And I just-- I was about to cry.
01:54 I just thought, OK.
01:56 This is my humble addition to the genre.
01:59 And I hope that, like Slumdog did, it opens a door.
02:01 And it allows a lot of other cultures
02:04 to come in and put their spin on it.
02:05 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:09 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:13 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:16 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:20 [MUSIC PLAYING]
02:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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