‘Musk recently made flying car. India did it 5000 yrs ago': Ranbir
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Mumbai: Actor Ranbir Kapoor has claimed that India had flying cars 5,000 years ago, long before Elon Musk's technological ambitions. The remark apparently aligns with the Sangh Parivar's Hindutva narrative of presenting mythological accounts as evidence of ancient India's scientific and technological superiority.
During an interview with television presenter Suma Kanakala, Ranbir compared the mythical Pushpaka Vimana described in the Ramayana with Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, suggesting that what the billionaire is attempting to achieve today had already been accomplished in ancient India.
“Elon Musk recently invented a flying car. I think India did it 5,000 years ago!” he was quoted by reports.
The actor remarked that Musk had only recently come up with the idea of a flying car, while India had something similar thousands of years ago. His comments make a sweeping historical claim, although the Pushpaka Vimana belongs to the realm of mythology and there is no scientific or historical evidence establishing the existence of flying vehicles in ancient India.
Ranbir, who plays Lord Rama in Nitesh Tiwari's upcoming film Ramayana: Part 1, was discussing the extraordinary inventions and supernatural elements described in the epic.
While the Pushpaka Vimana is depicted in the Ramayana as a flying chariot, equating a mythical vehicle with modern aviation technology is quite another matter. The actor's comparison reflects a familiar strand of discourse in which mythological descriptions are presented as proof of technological achievements in India's distant past.