Bengaluru: Actor Kamal Haasan’s statement, ‘Kannada language has descended from the Tamil language’, at a recent promotional event has sparked outrage in Karnataka.
On Wednesday, the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, led by Praveen Shetty, lodged a complaint against the actor with the RT Nagar Police in Bengaluru for hurting the sentiments of the Kannadigas.
“They have been constantly hurting the self-respect of Kannadigas every time a new Tamil movie is released. Such statements have been made continuously and have further disrupted peace between Kannadigas and Tamils,” PTI reported, quoting the complainant.
The activists staged protests and raised slogans against the actor in various parts of the state, including Belagavi, Mysuru, Hubballi, and Bengaluru.
They even burnt the actor’s posters at several places and threatened to obstruct the screening of his film ‘Thug Life’ in the state.
“We have received a complaint. But no FIR has been registered yet. We are seeking a legal opinion, and accordingly, we will take further action in the matter,” a senior police officer was quoted as saying.
On Sunday, while promoting his upcoming film ‘Thug Life’ in Karnataka, Kamal said, “Uyire Urave Tamizhe (My life and my family is Tamil language). Actor Shivarajkumar is my family living in another state. That’s why he is here. That’s why when I started my speech, I said, my life and my family is Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil. So, you are included in that line.”
While many believed that he made the remark to promote cultural unity, it did the exact opposite, evoking strong reactions and condemnation.
When asked about the row, Kamal refused to apologise. “What I said was said out of love, and a lot of historians have taught me language history. I didn’t mean anything,” the actor said.
He added that it is not an answer, rather an explanation for his earlier remark, and that love will never apologise. “Let’s leave all these very in-depth discussions to historians, archaeologists and language experts. If you look at it from the northern point of view, according to them it is right, if you look at it from Thenkumari (south), then what I say is right. There is a third angle to it– the scholars, the language experts. This is not an answer, an explanation. Love will never apologise.”