Earlier this year, Hollywood actor Will Smith spoke about having a 'difficult time' over the past couple of years and reading ‘all the holy books’ during a ‘spiritual phase' of his life. In 2022, Will spoke on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast about how Arjuna's story from Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharat helped him navigate 'perplexing situations' with people he loves. Talking about Arjuna, Will said he was 'deeply pious' but was left ‘devastated by what his family did to him’.

What Will Smith said about Arjuna

He said, "About Arjuna, the circumstance that he was in, for people who don't know, his family has tripped out, he's a wonderful archer. He's the best archer in the world and his family tricks out and takes the kingdom and they're like, you know, they snatch his wife and they're trying to disrobe his wife and he... you know, he's a warrior and, you know, he can get, he could get the kingdom back, you know. But these are his uncles and his, his brothers in law and his teachers and people that he loved and trusted, and they took his kingdom."

He added, “And they prepared an army and they're going to fight Arjuna and he's, he's devastated that his family and his friends and all of that, for material gain, would, would do this to him. And he's deeply pious. And they prepare an army, the greatest army that's ever been assembled, except that they don't know that God is driving Arjuna's chariot. Yes. Right? And they think they're going to tear through Arjuna, they're going to do all this, but God is driving Arjuna's chariot.”

'He knows Mahabharat more than today's Gen Z'

In response to an old clip of the actor talking about Arjuna, an Instagram user wrote, "Wow... just love that Will knows so well about Mahabharat and Arjuna." Another commented, "The way he says 'Except that they don’t know that GOD is driving Arjuna’s chariot' It’s just so perfect!"

"Bro has read Mahabharat not watched TV serials that's why he knows Arjuna was a true heroic character, yes Karna was powerful but the attitude of Arjun is what makes him the face of Mahabharat, the hero of Mahabharat," wrote a person. Another said, "He knows Mahabharat more than today's Gen Z kids." A comment also read, "Never heard this perfect explanation of Mahabharat... the way he's explained everything and the shine in his eyes... beautiful."

Why Will Smith has been in news

Will Smith and Chris Rock's heated exchange at the 2022 Academy Awards will go down in Oscars infamy. The annual awards took a sharp turn on March 27, 2022, when Will walked up to the Oscars stage and slapped Chris in the face after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith and her buzz cut. The actor has been candid about her hair loss and alopecia, so Will took offence to her medical condition being a punchline. Jada also stood by Will after he was criticised for slapping Chris at the 2022 Oscars.

In October 2023, Jada during an NBC News special, revealed that she and Will have been ’living separate lives' for the past seven years, though they haven't legally divorced. Jada explained that neither of them had publicly spoken about their split until last year because they were ‘still trying to figure out’ where they stood as partners.