Firstpost At Waves: Kareena Kapoor recalls meeting Hollywood director Steven Spielberg: 'He told me he loved 3 idiots and...'

Indian cinema is being watched by everyone, including Hollywood legend Steven Spielberg, actor Kareena Kapoor Khan said on Friday as she recalled the time when the Oscar-winning filmmaker praised her 2009 movie “3 Idiots”.

At the inaugural World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit here, the actor recounted the story of how she ran into Spielberg at an overseas restaurant soon after the release of “3 Idiots”, directed by Rajkumar Hirani and co-starring Aamir Khan.

“Even Steven Spielberg is watching our Hindi movies today… I was traveling somewhere and at a restaurant, Steve Spielberg was also there. This was many moons ago, ‘3 Idiots’ had just been released. And he came up to me and asked, ‘Are you the same girl who is in that famous Indian film where three students study together?’ I said yes, ‘I am the same girl.’

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“He told me that he loved the film. I don’t have to act in an English film for him to see me. He watched ‘3 Idiots’, so that is our moment in Indian cinema,” Kareena said.

The actor was speaking at the session “Cinema: The Soft Power” where she was joined by Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda. The session was hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar.

Kareena said she is happy with her work in Hindi cinema and has no intention of trying her hand at movies in the West.

“Films are a passion to me, films run into my blood, I was born into this family. So, never say never, but chasing something is not part of my personality. So, if it has to happen, maybe a Hindi-English film will happen,” the “Jaane Jaan” star said.

Kareena also spoke about the “insane” impact of Indian films in foreign nations.

“In 2023, I was in a taxi in London, the driver was a local and he started singing my grandfather’s song to me because he had watched all of Raj Kapoor’s movies.

“He sang the song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’ in Hindi. For me, that was really a great moment of pride… I felt the impact. He made me realise the kind of love that we, as a nation, our films, are getting,” she added.

What has changed today for good is that people used to enjoy dubbed Hindi films earlier but now they watch them in their native language, Kareena said.

Johar said he is honoured to have legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese as an executive producer on his upcoming home production film “Homebound”.

“It was a huge honour for us to have Martin Scorsese be an executive producer on our film, ‘Homebound’, the fact that he had made a contribution to a Hindi language film was a huge honour to hear his inputs,” he said.

“Homebound”, which is set to be showcased at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard segment, features Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor.

It is produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Apoorva Mehta and Somen Mishra and co-produced by Marijke deSouza and Melita Toscan Du Plantier.

And if that wasn’t surprising enough, when asked to name the five films that have emotionally resonated with him the most, Spielberg listed 3 Idiots—alongside cinematic giants like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Saving Private Ryan (1998), Jaws (1975), and The Godfather (1972).

For Rajkumar Hirani and Indian cinema as a whole, that’s more than a compliment—it’s a moment of global recognition.

3 Idiots has always been a cultural touchstone in India, but Spielberg’s admiration proves its impact crossed continents. A coming-of-age drama rooted in Indian realities found its place in the heart of one of cinema’s greatest storytellers.

So the next time you revisit 3 Idiots, remember—you’re watching a film that even Steven Spielberg couldn’t stop watching.

With added inputs from agencies