Will Smith still manages to be in the limelight even after a month of the Chris Rock incident. It’s not like anybody has forgotten the Oscars slap, but we’ll remind you, just in case. The actor had slapped Chris Rock at Oscars 2022 when he took a jibe at Jada Pinkett Smith and joked about her health condition. While the actor had issued a public apology for the slap, his public appearances post it weren’t many. He, however, was recently spotted in India recently. The internet was flooded with pictures of Will Smith in India. He landed at Mumbai airport and met up with spiritual leader, Sadhguru.
The actor last visited India in 2019. He was then the shooting of his reality show “The Bucket List.” He had also visited Haridwar and took part in the ‘Ganga Aarti.’
Interestingly, people from the West have always turned to India for their spiritual awakening. Will Smith is not the first star to come to India for enlightenment. Celebs including Emilia Clarke, Madonna, The Beatles have visited our country for the same purpose.
Here are 5 celebrities who’ve come to India for some soul searching:
Emilia Clarke
The Game Of Thrones actor visited India and went to Rishikesh along with her co-star Rose Leslie. Both of them are said to have stayed at a spiritual retreat. Clarke also visited Jaipur.
Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts brought her Eat Pray Love to life with her visit to India. Post filming the widely popular movie, the actor was so inspired by the culture, she converted to Hinduism. Roberts started taking her family on trips to India as well, where they would visit temples and ‘chant and dance and pray.’
The Beatles
Probably the most popular visit of the lot, The Beatles were dedicated a whole place in Rishikesh after their visit to India. Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison visited the spiritual hub in the 1960s, with every tourist visiting the small hill station and The Beatles Ashram. The legendary band had visited the sacred hill station to study transcendental meditation under the guidance of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Russell Brand
Comedian-actor Russell Brand has often talked about spirituality. Just like The Beatles, Brand is also a student of transcendental meditation. Brand and Katy Perry also had their wedding in India. The actor vouches that meditation changed his life.
Madonna
If you are a Madonna fan, you are pretty familiar with her iconic song “Shanti-Ashtangi.” The song epitomises her love affair with India and yoga in particular. She is also known to practise transcendental meditation. The Queen of Pop often visits India for a quick spiritual break.
(Featured Image Credits: Twitter)