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Despite Kamal Haasan’s recent clarification over his controversial remark linking the origins of the Kannada language to Tamil, the Karnataka government has threatened to block the release of his upcoming film Thug Life.
Karnataka’s Minister for Kannada and Culture, Shivaraj S Tangadagi, has written to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), urging them to halt the film’s release unless the veteran actor issues a public apology.
The Minister said Kamal Haasan’s comments, made during the audio launch of Thug Life, “deeply hurt” Kannada speakers. “When it comes to our language, land, and water, we will not tolerate anyone speaking against them, no matter how big the person is, even if it is Kamal Haasan,” Tangadagi stated. “He must immediately apologise for his comments about Kannada. He is a Kannada actor himself and has acted in Kannada movies. He should apologise to the people of Karnataka and Kannadigas, there are no two ways about it.”
Following this, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) said that it will not allow the release of Thug Life in Karnataka unless the actor issues a public apology by May 30.
The decision was taken following a meeting by the stakeholders in the film industry.
“Many Kannada groups have demanded a ban on his movie. So, we met and discussed the matter, and we've decided that he should apologise. We agree that what he did was wrong, and we are trying to meet and talk to him,” said KFCC president M Narasimhalu.
Similarly, KFCC former president Sa Ra Govindu threatened to intensify their protest if Kamal Haasan does not issue an apology.
“We have no sympathy for Kamal Haasan. If he does not issue a public apology today or tomorrow, we will support Kannada activists and will protest fiercely. Under no circumstances will we allow the film's release unless he apologises publicly,” he said.
Read: Shivarajkumar defends Kamal Haasan amid row over Kannada remark
A day earlier, Kamal Haasan issued a statement saying that he made the controversial remark “out of love.”
He further said that politicians including him are not qualified to talk about languages. Kamal Haasan is the leader of the political party Makkal Needhi Maiam. He is also nominated as the Rajya Sabha MP candidate.
“They [politicians] do not have the education enough to talk about it. That includes me. Let’s leave all these in-depth discussions to historians, archaeologists and language experts.”
On May 26, during the audio launch of Thug Life, Kamal Haasan began his speech by invoking his love for Tamil. While thanking the participation of Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar – who attended the event as a special guest– Kamal Haasan said that his comment ‘life, relationship and Tamil’ extended to Shiva Rajkumar as well. “Your language (Kannada) was also born out of Tamil. So you are also part of it,” Kamal Haasan said, pointing to the Kannada actor.
His remarks about the hierarchy of languages prompted boycott calls by Kannada organisations.
Thug Life starring Kamal Haasan, STR, Trisha, Joju George, Nasser and others is releasing on June 5. The film marks the reunion of Maniratnam and Kamal Haasan after nearly three decades.
