
Kamal Haasan tells Kerala people to learn Tamil first before talking about Hindi: ‘All of us are Dravidians'
Kamal Haasan reached Kochi to promote his upcoming film, Thug Life. He was at the PVR Forum Mall where he commented on the Hindi language row. Speaking in Tamil, he urged the people of Kerala to learn the languages of their neighbouring south Indian states before Hindi.
At the event, Kamal talked about Dravidian unity.
He told Kerala fans, 'First, you learn the language of the state next to you, then we'll talk about learning Hindi. All of us are Dravidians, one family. You can speak in Malayalam in Tamil Nadu, but if you speak for a very long time, it'll be difficult to understand. But if you speak Tamil in Kerala, people will understand it.'
Kamal Haasan went on to admit that it takes courage for someone to make a statement like his in public.
'It is our responsibility to ensure that our language doesn't disappear. Do you know how much dil (courage) it takes to make such a statement in this state? All of us are Dravidians. With that pride, we offer our family Thug Life. Namaskaram," he added.
Thug Life reunites Kamal with filmmaker Mani Ratnam after almost four decades. He last worked together in the 1987 film Nayagan. The script is co-written by Kamal and Mani, while directed by the latter.
Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf and Babura are also a part of the film.
Thug Life is backed by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies. It explores the story of a man who raises a young boy as his own but gets backstabbed by him later in life.
Thug Life will see an extended gap of 8 weeks between its theatrical and OTT release.
Talking about this new approach, Kamal told the media that it was a pragmatic thing to do. Hoping his approach will inspire others, he confirmed that Thug Life will make its OTT debut on Netflix India.
He said, "It is not even an experiment, it's a pragmatic thing to do. I'm glad that the OTT (Netflix) agreed. It's a plan that maybe others could follow.
'It will make the industry healthy and we are glad that we were the first to be there to avail of that opportunity.'
Usually, films follow a four-week window gap between its theatrical and digital release.
Meanwhile, Thug Life will release on June 5.
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