A video of a Telugu woman criticising fellow Indians in the US has gone viral on social media, sparking debate over the community’s image abroad. In the clip, the woman addresses two separate viral videos: one showing Indians peacefully shopping at Costco and another capturing unruly fan celebrations outside a movie theatre in Dallas, Texas, during the release of ‘War 2’.
According to the woman, the first video, which simply shows a large group of Indians buying groceries at Costco, attracted racist comments from some Americans, with people calling for Indians to be deported and their H-1B visas canceled. “There was no chaos in that video, yet the comments reflect racism,” she said.
However, the woman drew a sharp contrast with the second video, where groups of Telugu fans were seen chanting slogans such as “Dallas Adda” and “NTR Gadda”, which roughly translates to “Dallas belongs to NTR.” The clip, filled with loud celebrations, shows fans creating a public nuisance outside the Dallas theatre. “When people say they must deport Indians, we can always defend ourselves in incidents like the Costco shopping incident. But how do we defend ourselves in incidents like these? What these people are doing is really disturbing, and we can’t even blame racism for this,” she said.
The Telugu woman further highlighted the seriousness of the issue by asking viewers to imagine the reverse scenario. “Would it be acceptable if a group of white people in Hyderabad claimed the city belongs to someone like Sylvester Stallone?” she asked.
Urging the community to maintain dignity, the woman appealed to Indians to respect their surroundings and avoid behaviour that could tarnish the image of Indians abroad. “Because of such people, the community that is peacefully shopping at a supermarket is being blamed and facing racist slurs,” she concluded.
Social media reactions
The video has triggered widespread discussions online about cultural responsibility, fan behaviour, and how actions by a few can impact perceptions of an entire community.
“If you move to another country or place to earn a living, you should adapt to their culture. You cannot act recklessly, screaming and shouting as you might have in your home country. Such behavior is extremely cringe and comes across as embarrassing,” commented one user.
“Another day where 90% of the Indian origins who live in the USA have to suffer cause of these 10% ‘Chicken-brain indians’” wrote another.
“Very well articulated. Fandom has gone completely out of hand & tribal behaviour like this is embarrassing. Party support & filmstar support looks cheap, ghetto & tribal. All indians, Indian Americans are judged based on the actions of outliers like that. This needs to stop!” said a third user.
Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.
