Kamal Haasan will not apologise for controversial remark on Kannada, decides not to release Thug Life in Karnataka on June 5

Raajkamal Films International (in which Kamal Haasan is a director) has filed a petition seeking police protection for release of Thug Life due to opposition from pro-Kannada organisations and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC),  | Photo Credit: Thamodharan B

Tamil movie Thug Life will not be released in Karnataka as part of its worldwide launch on June 5, as actor Kamal Haasan chose not to tender an apology for his statement that ’Kannada is born out of Tamil’ despite a suggestion made in this regard by the High Court of Karnataka to put an end to the controversy.

Raajkamal Films International (of which Mr. Haasan is a director), which has filed the petition seeking police protection for release of the movie due to opposition from pro-Kannada organisation and Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), has said that it is not willing to screen the movie in Karnataka unless an encouraging dialogue takes place with KFCC.

The KFCC had demanded actor’s apology for ‘undermining the sentiments of people of Karnataka’ for his controversial statement and Mr. Haasan on June 3 had written a letter to KFCC stating that his statement on Kannada during recent launch of movie’s audio was made “out of genuine affection for the legendary Dr. Rajkumar... and his words were intended only to convey that we are all one and from the same family and not to diminish Kannada in any way...” Recording the statement made by petitioner that it does not intend to release the movie on June 5 in Karnataka, Justice M. Nagaprasanna adjourned further hearing on the petition till June 10. The petitioner made it clear to the Court that it is not intended to release the movie in Karnataka till the dialogue takes places with KFCC to resolve the issue. Rajagopalachari’s gesture Earlier in the morning session, Court had said that why can’t the actor end the controversy by apologising for his remark when the then Governor-General of India Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari had apologised for making a similar statement in 1950s.

“When persons like Rajagopalacharari can apologise why can’t Kamala Haasan,” the Court had asked advocate representing Raajkamal Films International, “You may be Kamal Hassan... but any citizen has no right to hurt sentiments of masses. Three are three things people are very emotional to, that is Nela, Jala and Bhashe, (land, water and language)... All these three things are important to any citizens. You know the states are formed on linguistic lines. So you [Mr. Haasan] know importance of language,” the Court observed orally.

The Court had also orally observed that “a public figure like Mr. Haasan makes a public statement on public forum that a language is born out of another language when no language can be born out of any other language... Where is the material to support it. And what has happened because of that statement is unrest, disharmony.... What did people of Karnataka asked. An apology. Now you have come up before the court seeking police protection for the circumstance created by you. Have people of Karnataka created this circumstance”. When Court asked the advocate whether Mr. Haasan is a historian or a linguistic, the advocate clarified that that actor has already clarified that he not. To this, the Court asked that then on what basis Mr. Haasan made the statement that means that ‘Tamil is mother of Kannada.” Justice Nagaprasanna pointed out to Mr. Haasan’s advocate that Mr. Rajagopalachari, in response to a letter written by Kannada writers, had sent an apology in writing for making statement that ‘Kannada is evolved out of Tamil.’

“One apology [by Mr. Haasan] would have solved everything,” the Court said while pointing out that Mr. Haasan is before this Court to protect his commercial interest. “...for your own creation [of problem] you want the state police machinery to support you now. We are not on this group and that group. The language is a sentiment attached to land of particular people. You said some thing that would undermine, the Court observed When Mr. Hassan’s advocate asked whether actor’s statement ‘undermines Kannada,” the Court said, “Yes it does.”

“You cannot say that Kannada language is so strong that it would not wither away with such things all different thing. You are not an ordinary man. You are a public figure. Ordinary people now tweeting or doing anything on social media are also considered as mistake and crimes are registered left, right and centre. And now on a public forum and a public figure speaks like this...,” the Court said. “Freedom of expression cannot be stretched to hurting some one’s sentiments, particularly of a mass,” the Court said while pointing out that

Response In response to court’s suggestion made in the morning, Mr. Chinnappa said that he spoke to Mr. Haasan and the actor made it clear that he had already communicated to the KFCC that his intention is not diminish Kannada anyway. When the Court asked why the actor did not add one sentence in this letter, Mr. Chinnappa said “an apology is required where there is malice” while stating that Mr. Haasan had no ill intention when he made the statement about Kannada. When the Court termed actor’s response is nothing but ‘ego,’ the advocate said it is not ego while stating that the petitioner is not insisting release movie in Karnataka at present and seeking postponement of hearing on the petition.

Published - June 03, 2025 04:08 pm IST