Diego Luna has a 'personal' India connect

He knows the world of Bhagavad Gita, he knows about saint Sai Baba and follows a spiritual guru -- Diego Luna has a special bond with India. But the "Narcos: Mexico" star doesn't like to talk about the connection as it is a very "personal" matter for him.

The actor expressed his thoughts about Indian culture during a panel discussion with director Shakun Batra and actress Alia Bhatt here on Monday.

When Batra asked Luna to open up about his spiritual connect with India, referring that his grandmother was born in India, the actor said: "No (I don't want to talk since) spiritual connection is different."

Prodded further by pointing out that he knows part of Bhagavad Gita, knows Sai Baba and follows a spiritual guru, Luna said: "It is something that I told you because I had four vodkas in me. I don't see how it connects with 'Narcos'. It is really personal."

He might have evaded the question of his 'desi' connect, but that didn't stop him from expressing his love for the country.

"I can just say that I find so many similarities between the Indian culture and Mexican culture... Like the cultural diversity," said Luna, who is in Mumbai to promote forthcoming "Narcos: Mexico" -- the fourth season of the hugely popular "Narcos" franchise by Netflix.

With "Narcos: Mexico", showrunner Eric Newman is turning back the clock to explore the origins of the modern drug war by going back to its roots. It begins at a time when the Mexican trafficking world was a loose and disorganised confederation of independent growers and dealers.

It will showcase the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s as Felix Gallardo (Luna) takes the helm, unifying traffickers to build an empire. When DEA agent Kiki Camarena (Michael Pena) moves his wife and young son from California to Guadalajara to take on a new post, he quickly learns that his assignment will be more challenging than he ever could have imagined. The show will premiere on November 16 on Netflix.

Luna is in India to promote the show with Pena and Newman.

Talking about the show, he said: "I don't think of it as fourth season. It's a new series for me. It is about a new place with a new cast -- everything is different. They complement each other but 'Narcos: Mexico" won't remind you of previous seasons."

"Narcos: Mexico" is also a very personal story for Luna.

"It is the foundation of Mexico where we are living today. It happened in the 1980s. I was six when this event happened. I don't remember that because my father was hiding that from me. But when 1990s came, I was reading about violence erupting and understanding how crucial 1980s were," said the actor, who hails from Mexico.

He is also grateful to the previous cast, which include names like Pedro Pascal, Wagner Moura and Boyd Holbrook, for making the show popular around the world.

"For the first time, I don't have to worry about the opening of my project."

(Sugandha Rawal is in Mumbai on an invitation of Netflix India. She can be contacted at sugandha.r@ians.in)

--IANS

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