Kannada was born out of Tamil: Kamal Haasan's comment sparks huge political outrage
Chennai/Bengaluru: Actor Kamal Haasan has sparked a storm just weeks ahead of his film Thug Life's release, claiming that "Kannada was born out of Tamil" — a remark that has triggered outrage across Karnataka.
These comments by Kamal Haasan were made during the launch of his latest film at an event in Chennai. According to reports, the speech made by the actor began with "Uyire Urave Tamizhe", meaning "my life and my family" in Tamil. He then shifted to Shivarajkumar, a Kannada actor present at the event. Haasan said, "This is my family. 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," said Haasan on the Kanada origin. These comments triggered backlash in Karnataka, with the state BJP chief Vijayendra Yediyurappa calling it as 'uncultured' behaviour and accused him of "disrespecting' and 'hurting the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas' in his effort to 'glorify his own mother tongue.'
The BJP chief also demanded an 'unconditional apology' to Kannadigas. In a post on X, he said that artists should respect every language. 'It is the height of arrogance that actor @ikamalhaasan, who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada,' he said further. The BJP chief also accused Haasan of insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments for the past few years.
Yediyurappa stated that while Kannadigas are not language haters they will never sacrifice self-respect when it comes to their land, language, people, ideas, water. Meanwhile, the president of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Praveen Shetty, said they could not confront the actor as he left the venue. Giving Haasan a warning, it said: '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.' Earlier while on promotion in Tamil at the event, the actor emphasised that everyone should learn to speak their neighbouring state's language first and Hindi later.
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