{"id":626471,"date":"2026-10-10T15:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T15:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/626471\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T15:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T15:02:13","slug":"after-kamal-haasan-ramayana-actor-kunal-kapoor-criticises-elon-musk-over-starlinks-india-entry-row-calls-out-saviour-complex-of-western-tech-billionaires-the-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/626471\/","title":{"rendered":"After Kamal Haasan, ‘Ramayana’ actor Kunal Kapoor criticises Elon Musk over Starlink\u2019s India entry row, calls out \u2018saviour complex of Western tech billionaires\u2019: \u2018The colonial mindset isn\u2019t always about wanting to rule a country\u2019 |"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AfterAfter Kamal Haasan, ‘Ramayana’ actor Kunal Kapoor criticises Elon Musk over Starlink\u2019s India entry row, calls out \u2018saviour complex of Western tech billionaires\u2019: \u2018The colonial mindset isn\u2019t always about wanting to rule a country\u2019 Actor Kunal Kapoor<\/a> has criticised Elon Musk<\/a> amid the ongoing debate over Starlink\u2019s proposed entry into India, calling out what he described as the \u201csaviour complex of Western tech billionaires\u201d. In a strongly worded social media post, Kunal drew parallels between Musk\u2019s past controversies in Thailand and Brazil and his recent remarks about the regulatory hurdles facing Starlink in India. His comments come after Kamal Haasan also weighed in on the controversy.<\/p>\n

Kunal Kapoor calls out Elon Musk\u2019s \u2018saviour complex\u2019<\/p>\n

Kunal questioned the approach of powerful technology entrepreneurs who enter countries promising progress but react sharply when local institutions challenge their plans. He suggested that the response to such resistance reflects an expectation that countries should welcome these figures as problem-solvers without questioning their methods.\u201cWatching Elon Musk this week has been a fascinating character study in the saviour complex of Western tech billionaires. They arrive in your country selling you the future. Welcome them, and you\u2019re a country that wants progress. Make them wait, and suddenly your people are victims who need rescuing from their own institutions by the chosen one,\u201d he wrote.The actor argued that the pattern extends beyond India, pointing to earlier disputes involving Musk in Thailand and Brazil.<\/p>\n

Kunal Kapoor recalls Elon Musk\u2019s Thailand cave rescue controversy<\/p>\n

Kunal referred to the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand, during which 12 young football players and their coach were trapped inside a cave complex. Musk offered a mini-submarine to assist with the rescue, but the device was not used. British diver Vernon Unsworth, who participated in the operation, questioned its practicality. Musk subsequently attacked Unsworth on social media, prompting widespread criticism.Referring to the episode, Kunal wrote, \u201cIt\u2019s a pattern. When Thai rescuers didn\u2019t use the mini-submarine Musk sent for the trapped boys, and diver Vernon Unsworth called the idea impractical, Musk attacked him as the \u2018pedo guy.\u2019\u201dThe actor invoked the incident to support his argument that Musk\u2019s response to criticism follows a recurring pattern.<\/p>\n

Kunal Kapoor cites Elon Musk\u2019s dispute with Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court<\/p>\n

Kunal also pointed to Musk\u2019s 2024 dispute with Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court over orders concerning X, formerly Twitter. The platform was suspended in Brazil after it failed to comply with court orders, including requirements relating to legal representation. Musk publicly criticised the court and its judge during the dispute.\u201cThe script rarely changes. Only the country does,\u201d Kunal wrote, drawing a comparison between the Brazil controversy and the current debate over Starlink in India.He further explained what he meant by a colonial mindset, arguing that it need not involve an explicit desire to govern another country.\u201cThe colonial mindset isn\u2019t always about wanting to rule a country. Sometimes it\u2019s the assumption that you arrive as its saviour, and if the country doesn\u2019t immediately recognise you as one, something must be wrong with the country,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

What is the Starlink row in India?<\/p>\n

Kunal\u2019s remarks come amid a public dispute over the delay in launching Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Musk\u2019s SpaceX, in India. Musk has alleged that powerful business interests are obstructing the company\u2019s entry to protect their market positions, although he has not publicly substantiated those allegations.The Indian government has rejected claims of discriminatory treatment, stating that the satellite communications approval process is fair and non-discriminatory. Authorities have said that Starlink and other licensed satellite communication operators are at broadly similar stages of the regulatory process, with security clearances and spectrum-related requirements still to be addressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After Kamal Haasan, ‘Ramayana’ actor Kunal Kapoor criticises Elon Musk over Starlink\u2019s India entry row, calls out \u2018saviour…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626472,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[307612,430,307611,516,156,206974,111,139,69,124107,307607,307609,307610,307608],"class_list":["post-626471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-brazil-supreme-court","tag-celebrities","tag-colonial-mindset","tag-elon-musk","tag-entertainment","tag-kunal-kapoor","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-satellite-internet-service","tag-saviour-complex","tag-thailand-cave-rescue","tag-vernon-unsworth","tag-western-tech-billionaires"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626471","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626471"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626471\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626472"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}