Haasan filed a plea challenging the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce imposing a ban on the release of his film Thug Life in the state.
Published Jun 03, 2025 | 3:33 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 03, 2025 | 3:33 PM
Karnataka High Court hears Kamal Haasan's petition.
Synopsis: The Karnataka High Court asked Kamal Haasan why he did not apologise after saying Kannada was born out of Tamil. Haasan sent an official letter addressed to the KFCC President saying he did not intend to diminish Kannada.
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, 3 June, slammed actor-politician Kamal Haasan for not issuing an apology for his controversial statement that Kannada was born out of Tamil.
Justice M Nagaprasanna made the statement while hearing a plea filed by actor Kamal Haasan challenging the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) imposing a ban on the release of his film Thug Life in the state. He made the remark during the audio lunch event of Thug Life in Chennai.
Justice Nagaprasanna asked Kamal Haasan, “You have undermined the sentiment of the people of Karnataka. On what basis? Are you a historian or a linguist?”
While hearing a plea, he stated that nobody has the right to hurt the sentiments of others.
“Jala (water), Nila (land), and Bhashe (language) are three things important to all citizens. The division [of states] happened on a linguistic basis. Language is a sentiment deeply attached to a particular people. You have undermined that,” said Justice Nagaprasanna.
He continued: “If a public figure makes a statement like this—’No language can be born out of another’—then where is the material [to support this]? What has happened now? Disharmony. The people of Karnataka have asked for just one thing: an apology. The circumstances were created by Kamal, and yet he says he won’t apologise.”
He further questioned the attitude of Haasan, of not apologising after making a mistake.
“Why do you want your film released in Karnataka if you can’t apologise? Freedom of expression cannot be stretched to the point where it hurts sentiments,” the court remarked.
Following the hearing, Haasan sent an official letter addressed to KFCC President Narsimhalu. However, he did not offer an apology in the letter.
“It pains me that my statement at the Thug Life audio launch, spoken out of genuine affection for the legendary Dr Rajkumar’s family, especially Shiva Rajkumar, has been misunderstood and taken out of context. My words were intended only to convey that we are all one and from the same family and not to diminish Kannada in any way. There is no dispute or debate on the rich legacy of the Kannada language,” Haasan said.
He said that Kannada has a proud literary and cultural tradition similar to Tamil that he has long admired.
“Throughout my career, I have cherished the warmth and affection extended to me by the Kannada-speaking community, and I say this with a clear conscience and conviction: my love for the language is genuine, and I have great respect for the love that Kannadigas have for their mother tongue,” he said.
Haasan also stated that his bond with Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and all languages of this land is abiding and heartfelt. “I have always stood for the equal dignity of all Indian languages and remain opposed to the dominance of any one language over another, as such imbalance undermines the linguistic fabric of the Union of India,” Haasan said.
“It is this love and bond that my seniors taught me, which I wanted to share. It is out of this love and bond that Shivanna attended the audio launch event. I really regret that Shivanna had to go through such embarrassment on account of this. But I’m sure our true love and respect for each other will always remain and get firmer now.”
He also stated that cinema must remain a bridge between people, never a wall that divides them. “This was the intent of my statemen,t and I never have been nor would ever want to give any room for public unrest and animosity.”
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
