Tamil megastar Kamal Haasan, weeks before the release of his latest film, Thug Life, has teed off a fresh controversy with his “your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil” remark at an event in Chennai.
The actor began his speech with the phrase “Uyire Urave Tamizhe”, meaning “my life and my family is Tamil language”.
Then pivoting to Shivarajkumar, a Kannada actor, who was also present at the event, Mr Haasan said, “This is my family in that place. That’s why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That’s why I began my speech saying life, relationship and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it).”
The comments invited sharp criticism in Karnataka. State BJP chief Vijayendra Yediyurappa termed the actor’s behaviour “uncultured” and accused him of insulting Kannada.
“One should love one’s mother tongue, but showing disrespect in its name is uncultured behavior. Especially artists should have the culture of respecting every language. It is the height of arrogance and arrogance that an actor @ikamalhaasan who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada by including actor Shivarajkumar in the glorification of his Tamil language,” said the state 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
Mr Yediyurappa accused Kamal Haasan, who has also acted in Kannada films, of having forgotten the “generosity of Kannada and Kannada people” by revealing his “ungrateful personality”.
“Kamal Haasan, who is supposed to bring 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 apologize unconditionally to Kannadigas,” he said.
The state BJP chief further said that the actor is not a historian to define which language gave birth to which language.
“Let us remember Kamal Haasan, who spoke like a true sage who said that Kannadigas are not language haters, but have never sacrificed self-respect when it comes to Kannada land, language, people, water, and ideas,” he stressed.
Pro-Kannada groups are up in arms against the actor, threatening to ban his movie in the state. They also protested and tore up his movie posters in Bengaluru.
“We are warning you that if you talk against Kannada and Kannadigas we have to ban your movie,” warned Praveen Shetty, leader, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike.
Mr Haasan’s Thug Life will hit cinemas on June 5. This marks his 2nd collaboration with the National Award-winning auteur Mani Ratnam after almost four decades. The two last worked together in ‘Nayakan’.
