Kamal Hassan's Thug Life won't release in Karnataka for now amid Kannada language row

Mint

3 days ago

Actor Kamal Haasan has agreed to stall the release of his upcoming film Thug Life in Karnataka, following the controversy over his recent remarks on Tamil and Kannada. He said that 'Kannada was born out of Tamil' during the audio release event of Thug Life.
On Tuesday, Kamal Hassan refused to apologise to the Karnataka High Court for his statement. He said that he had 'no malice', as per LiveLaw.
He also proposed to have a dialogue with the Film Chamber in the matter.
Earlier during the hearing, the HC rapped the actor for his controversial remark.
The court said, 'You may be Kamal Haasan or anybody, you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses.'
'There is no apology in it. You may be Kamal Haasan or anybody, you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses. The division of this country is on linguistic lines. A public figure cannot make such statements. What has happened because of it is unrest, disharmony. People of Karnataka only asked for an apology. Now you come here seeking protection,' the court added, reported LiveLaw.
Senior Advocate Dhyan Chinnappa clarified that Kamal Haasan's statement is being interpreted out of context.
He added that the remark was made in the presence of a leading star from the Kannada film industry itself and submitted his client's official response to the matter.
However, upon going through the statement, the court remarked that it lacked any form of apology.
The court also questioned Kamal Haasan's expertise, 'On what basis have you made the statement, are you a historian, linguist. On what basis did you speak? (sic)'
Thug Life is scheduled to hit the theatres across India, except Karnataka, on 5 June for now.
Kamal Haasan, who declined to offer an apology, had moved the High Court asking for a direction for the film's release after many objected to it being released in the state.
Citing the example of Rajgopal Acharya, who once made a similar statement 75 years ago, the court said that an apology from Kamal Haasan would have been appropriate instead of seeking protection for the release of his film.
The bench also said, 'You know the importance of the film, saying it is made by Mani Ratnam, but you cannot make a statement (Apology).
'For your own creation, you want police machinery to support now. Language is a sentiment attached to the people. You are not an ordinary man, you are a public figure. People writing on social media are also being investigated.
'Fundamental right of speech and expression cannot be stretched to hurt sentiments of the masses.'