South superstar Kamal Haasan is in controversy due to his statement on Kannada. He had said that Kannada is born from Tamil. When the controversy increased, his film Thug Life was not allowed to be released in Karnataka. At the same time, the Karnataka High Court has also reprimanded him for his statement. Now a statement of Kamal Haasan on Hindi has come to light, in which he has said that it should not be imposed suddenly, because sudden change will make many people illiterate. Recently, in an interview given to PTI, Kamal Haasan was questioned on the language controversy. He was asked what is your opinion on the controversy over Hindi being imposed in the South. In response, Kamal Haasan jokingly said, I stand with Punjab. However, he further said seriously, I stand with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. These are not the only places where language is being imposed. I was an actor in the film Ek Duje Ke Liye. I learned the language without being imposed. Do not impose, because in a way it is education. You should take the easiest path for education and not create obstacles. He further said, I believe that if you really want to succeed internationally, you should learn a language and I find English quite appropriate. You can also learn Spanish or Chinese, but I think the easiest way is that we have 350 years old English education, which is slowly but steadily going on. When you suddenly change it, you will unnecessarily make many people illiterate. If you suddenly force people in Tamil Nadu to do everything in Hindi and you tell them that they will not get a job outside India. Then you start thinking what about our promises, what about our language, such questions come up. There was a controversy over the statement given on Kannada. In the audio launch event of the film Thug Life held on May 24, Kamal Haasan had said that Kannada language was born from Tamil. After Kamal Haasan’s statement on Kannada language came to light, protests against him started all over Karnataka. His posters were burnt at many places and there were demands to stop the release of his film. Due to the language dispute, on 28 May, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) banned the release of Kamal Haasan’s film ‘Thug Life’. KFCC President M Narasimhalu had told news agency PTI that if Kamal Haasan wants his film to be released, he will have to apologize. Kamal Haasan said – If I am wrong, then there will be no apology. After receiving the warning from the Film Chamber, Kamal Haasan told the media outside the Chennai-based DMK party headquarters, “This is democracy. I believe in law and justice. My love for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala is true. No one should doubt this, except those who run an agenda. I have been threatened before and if I am wrong, I will apologize, but if I am not wrong, then I will not apologize.” After this, he filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court on June 2 to lift the ban on the film Thug Life. The petition has demanded the removal of the ban imposed by Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) on the release of the film in Karnataka and police security during the release. The matter was heard on June 3. The court reprimanded Kamal Haasan for his statement that ‘Kannada language was born from Tamil’. Justice M. Nagaprasanna said, ‘On what basis have you made this statement? Are you a historian or a linguist? Whether you are Kamal Haasan or someone else, you do not have the right to hurt anyone’s sentiments.’ The court said – this country was divided on the basis of language. Water, land and language are very important for citizens. Your statement has caused unrest. The people of Karnataka expected only an apology from you, but you came here seeking protection. The court also said that this matter could have been resolved with a simple apology. Despite the court’s reprimand, Haasan did not apologize. Even after the court’s request, the court was told that the actor has written a letter to KFCC today. It has been decided that Haasan’s film Thug Life will not be released in Karnataka until the issue is resolved through talks with KFCC. On this, the Justice ordered to issue notice to the state government, central government and Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The next hearing in the case will be on June 10. Till then, Haasan’s film does not seem to be released in the state. Justice said – Shri Rajagopal Acharya had also apologized
During the hearing, Justice M Nagaprasanna gave the example of Shri Rajagopal Acharya, who had made a similar statement 75 years ago. Justice said that a similar statement was made 75 years ago and then Shri Rajagopal had apologized. Why can’t you (Kamal Haasan) ask? At the same time, Kamal Haasan wrote a letter to KFCC saying, I am very sad that his statement given at the audio launch of Thug Life, which was his true love for Dr. Rajkumar and his family, especially Shiva Rajkumar. It was presented in a wrong way. My intention was not to hurt anyone’s feelings.
