Kamal Haasan sparks language clash

'Said it out of love': Kamal Haasan clarifies remark on Kannada after backlash.

Transcript

00:00This movie promotion turned into a full-blown language war.

00:08On May 24, 2025, actor Kamal Hassan kicked off the audio launch of his film Thug Life in Chinnai.

00:14He opened with the line,

00:16which means my life and my family is the Tamil language.

00:19He went on to speak about Kannada superstar Shivaraj Kumar,

00:22who was present at the event, referring to him as family from another state.

00:26What followed was a wave of backlash and it all began in Karnataka.

00:30Pro-Kannada organizations like the Kannada Rakshana Vedike slammed Hassan's remarks.

00:34They saw it as disrespectful to the Kannada language

00:37and warned of serious consequences if he repeated such comments.

00:40In Bengaluru, activists from these groups reportedly tore down banners of Thug Life and issued a warning.

00:53KRV leader Praveen Shetty alleged that Hassan left Karnataka earlier than planned to avoid confrontation.

00:58He made it clear that promoting a film should not come at the cost of hurting local sentiments.

01:03Many people interpreted Hassan's comments as an attempt to bilittle Kannada's independent linguistic roots,

01:09especially after an earlier remark surfaced where he allegedly said Kannada was born out of Tamil.

01:13Social media quickly picked up on it,

01:15with the hashtag ban Thug Life in Karnataka trending.

01:18Users demanded a ban on the film in the state.

01:20The heat didn't stop with activists.

01:22The issue soon took a political turn.

01:24Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra strongly criticized Hassan.

01:28Accused him of disrespect and arrogance.

01:30Even Chief Minister Sidharmaya responded to the controversy, adding weight to the growing tension.

01:38Amid all this, Kannada actor Shiv Rajkumar found himself caught in the crossfire.

01:42While he hadn't commented, fans began urging him to speak up and protect the honour of the Kannada language.

01:47Linguist studies suggest that Kannada and Tamil are co-Dravidian languages.

01:51Kannada has been around for over 2,000 years,

01:53while it shares roots with Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam through a common ancestor called Proto-Dravidian.

01:58It developed on its own.

01:59One of the earliest Kannada inscriptions, the Halmidi inscription,

02:03dates back to around 450 CE, showing its independent evolution.

02:07Back in Tamil Nadu, reactions were mixed.

02:09The BJP criticized Hassan's statement, but the ruling DMK defended him.

02:13Responding to the recent controversy surrounding his remarks, Kamal Hassan clarified,

02:27what I said in from a place of love.

02:29I've learned language history from many historians.

02:31I didn't mean to offend anyone.