Row over Kamal Haasan’s ‘Kannada was born out of Tamil’ remark, BJP seeks apology

Following this, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra accused the actor of “disrespecting” Kannada in his effort to glorify his own mother tongue. The BJP leader also demanded that the actor issue an “unconditional apology to Kannadigas immediately”.

Taking to X, Vijayendra said, “Artists should have the culture of respecting every language. It is the height of arrogance that actor @ikamalhaasan, who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada.” He added that Kannada has been a prominent language in many parts of the world, including India, for centuries.

“Kamal Haasan, who supposedly brings harmony to South India, has been continuously insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments for the past few years. Now, he has insulted Kannada by hurting the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas. Kamal Haasan should immediately apologise unconditionally to Kannadigas,” wrote the Karnataka BJP chief.

ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸಬೇಕು, ಆದರೆ ಅದರ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದುರಭಿಮಾನ ಮೆರೆಯುವುದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಹೀನ ನಡವಳಿಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕಲಾವಿದರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನೂ ಗೌರವಿಸುವ ಸಂಸ್ಕಾರ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಕನ್ನಡವೂ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಅನೇಕ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಟಿಸಿರುವ ನಟ @ikamalhaasan ತಮ್ಮ ತಮಿಳು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ವೈಭವಿಕರಿಸುವ ಮತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಟ… pic.twitter.com/PrfKX099lZ

— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) May 27, 2025

Vijayendra also said Haasan is not a historian to tell with authority which language gave birth to another language. “Kannada language, which has a history of more than two and a half thousand years, symbolises prosperity and represents harmony on the map of India. Let us remind Kamal Haasan that Kannadigas are not language haters, but they never sacrifice self-respect when it comes to their land, language, people, water, and ideas.”

Praveen Shetty, president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Praveen Shetty faction), said Haasan had left the venue before the members of his organisation could confront him. “Today we are giving a strong warning to him. You want to do business in Karnataka and show your movies, stop insulting Kannada and Kannadigas. You were here to promote a movie, but departed even before the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike reached there to blacken your face,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.