India, Jan. 10 -- A ctor Vishal Jethwa has been travelling the world since last year to promote his Oscar-shortlisted film Homebound (2025). Through it all, one constant for him, whether in India or abroad, has been his strong connection to the Hindi language. On World Hindi Day today, he reflects on this bond, saying, "I feel proud of representing India and promoting Homebound in Hindi globally." Elaborating further, Vishal shares, "To speak your own language in a foreign country feels very good. So wherever possible, I try to speak in Hindi. In fact, when I met Martin Scorsese (Hollywood filmmaker, who is also the executive producer on Homebound), I made him say Namaste. That's how we take our culture forward." The 31-year-old admits that this confidence and sense of pride did not come naturally at first. Early in his career, not being fluent in English often made him uncomfortable, as language proficiency was closely associated with education and social status within the film industry. Over time, however, he learned to embrace his identity and linguistic roots: "I used to have trouble with the fact that I didn't know English. But slowly, I started speaking in Hindi everywhere. After that, I saw a lot of acceptance coming my way, and it made me confident." Being referred to as a Hindi film actor is another source of pride for Vishal, though he does express concern about a growing disconnect among some actors in the Hindi film industry, particularly from the younger generation. "For a Hindi film actor, to be fluent in Hindi is important. Maybe it's not the language you grew up around with, but it's the language you are working in. So, you need to learn it. There can be no negotiation in this," he ends....