‘Everyone wants Kamal Haasan to apologise, we are ready to meet and discuss': KFCC
The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) is open to discussion with actor Kamal Haasan regarding the stalled release of his film Thug Life in the state. A storm erupted when Kamal recently said at an event that Kannada is born out of Tamil, inviting Kannadiga's fury.
A PTI alert on Twitter read, 'If Kamal Haasan wishes, ready to meet and discuss.' However, they also added that everyone wants Kamal to apologise for his statement, something the actor has refused to entertain.
In a press statement issued by KFCC, it is stated that an emergency executive committee meeting of the film body was held on Tuesday after the Karnataka High Court issued its order on the petition filed by Raaj Kamal Films International. "In the meeting, we discussed everything that has happened so far, including Haasan's letter that talked about brotherly harmony, coexistence, love, trust, etc. Like him, we too want love and trust with the neighbouring states. But we have decided that unconditional apology is what the pro-Kannada organisations, the government and the entire people of the state want," the statement read.
KFCC has urged Haasan to withdraw his statement -- Kannada born out of Tamil -- and render an unconditional apology. "This is also what has been discussed very seriously in the Karnataka High Court. Therefore, we have decided in Tuesday's meeting to urge him to withdraw the statement and apologise," KFCC stated.
Thug life will not be released in Karnataka on June 5, the scheduled date for the pan-India release of the much-anticipated movie, its producers informed the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice Nagaprasanna, counsel for the petitioner maintained that there was no malice and an apology was not warranted and submitted that the screening of the movie would not be insisted upon in Karnataka till the issue gets resolved through dialogue.
The court posted to June 10 further hearing of the petition by the production house, Raaj Kamal Films International, seeking adequate security for the movie's release in the state.
During the hearing, filmmaker Haasan came in for strong criticism from the court for his remark suggesting that "Kannada was born out of Tamil," and the court observed that a "single apology could have resolved the situation." The petition was filed following widespread protest against the actor's recent remarks regarding Kannada language and a demand for his apology.
Kamal, writing to Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), acknowledged the film body's concern and said: "It pains me that my statement at the Thug Life audio launch, spoken out of genuine affection for the legendary Dr Rajkumar's family, especially Shiva Rajkumar has been misunderstood and taken out of context."
He said he only intended to convey that "we are all one, and from the same (linguistic) family," and did not mean to diminish the Kannada language in any way. "There is no dispute or debate on the rich legacy of Kannada language," he said adding he was writing out of deep respect for the people of Karnataka.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
5 minutes ago
- India Today
Row over Congress Minister's son granted stage access at Vidhana Soudha RCB event
In the aftermath of the stampede in Bengaluru outside the venue of RCB's felicitation event which killed 11 people, the Karnataka BJP slammed the Congress government for alleged preferential treatment given to Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan's son to the BJP, sons of ministers were reportedly granted access to the stage and seen standing behind cricketer Virat Kohli, while members of the public were kept waiting outside. The state government organised an event inside the Vidhana Soudha premises, earlier on Wednesday, to honour the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) team, where the general was not allowed. advertisementThe presence of non-official individuals on the dais triggered criticism, with many questioning the preferential treatment accorded to relatives of ministers at a state function. Among those visible in images from the Vidhana Soudha event was Zaid Khan, son of Minister for Housing, Wakf and Minority Welfare Zameer Ahmed Khan. Dressed in a white shirt, he was seen standing behind Kohli and alongside the rest of the cricket team during the felicitation ceremony. He is known to have acted in a Kannada film. Vijay Prasad, BJP spokesperson, questioned the situation, asking, 'How did ministers' sons gain entry to the stage?'advertisementWhile ordinary citizens were denied access or made to wait, the appearance of ministers' family members on stage has prompted allegations of misuse of official platforms for personal least 11 people died and nearly 50 were injured in a stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium, the second venue where the team was felicitated, in a separate event organised by the Karnataka State Cricket Association on the same day. IN THIS STORY#Bengaluru#Karnataka
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Muzammil Ibrahim claims even Shah Rukh Khan agreed he deserved best debut award over Ranbir Kapoor: 'Outsiders face such things and they can't even complain'
Muzammil Ibrahim reflects on his Bollywood debut in 'Dhokha,' expressing his belief that he deserved the 'Best Debut' award over Ranbir Kapoor in 2007. Despite nominations and praise from industry veterans like Nana Patekar and Irrfan Khan, Muzammil felt sidelined during award ceremonies. He recalls Shah Rukh Khan acknowledging his performance, yet he experienced disappointment as an outsider. The Bollywood debut race of 2007 saw several promising newcomers, but while some soared to stardom, others felt overlooked and sidelined. Among them is Muzammil Ibrahim , who recently opened up about the challenges he faced as an outsider and his belief that he deserved the 'Best Debut' award more than the eventual winner, Ranbir Kapoor . His candid reflections reveal the harsh realities of the industry, where talent doesn't always guarantee recognition. In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan on his YouTube channel, Muzammil reflected on the 2007 debut race, where he shared the spotlight with Ranbir Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh, who debuted with Saawariya and Johnny Gaddaar respectively. Muzammil revealed that even veteran actor Nana Patekar acknowledged his performance in Dhokha as the strongest among the newcomers but hinted that the awards were already leaning in Ranbir's favour. Muzammil firmly believes that he delivered a better performance than Ranbir in Saawariya and felt he deserved the 'Best Debut' awards that year. Though he now admires Ranbir's talent and success, he maintains that Dhokha showcased a more impactful debut. Dhokha, directed by Pooja Bhatt and produced by Mahesh Bhatt , featured Muzammil Ibrahim alongside Tulip Joshi. Muzammil revealed that he was initially informed he would be paired with Kangana Ranaut, but she was replaced before filming began. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo He also shared that the late Irrfan Khan had praised his performance, telling Mahesh Bhatt that few actors could deliver what Muzammil had achieved in the film. Muzammil revealed that although he was nominated for 'Best Debut' alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Neil Nitin Mukesh, some award shows didn't even invite him to the ceremonies. He recalled feeling deeply hurt when Shah Rukh Khan took his name on stage, reportedly saying that Muzammil deserved the award more. According to him, even Ranbir had expressed something similar. Despite being nominated, both he and his film Dhokha were sidelined, leaving him feeling helpless and disheartened. Watching his name being read out on stage while sitting at home was a painful moment—one he described as unjust, especially as a young outsider with high hopes. Check out our list of the latest Hindi , English , Tamil , Telugu , Malayalam , and Kannada movies . Don't miss our picks for the best Hindi movies , best Tamil movies, and best Telugu films .
The Hindu
19 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Charulatha Mani uses tremolo technique from opera tradition in Thug Life song
Last week, when the world heard the songs of Mani Ratnam's Thug Life at the audio launch, they found an AR Rahman album that catered to different moods all at once — among others, there was the rousing 'Vinveli nayaka' by Shruti Haasan, the lilting 'Mutha mazhai' in Chinmayi's voice, and Charulatha Mani's soothing-yearning-lament 'Anju vanna poove', which featured the tremolo technique drawn from the opera tradition. 'Anju vanna' also turned out to be an educative experience for the audience, many of whom wondered at the 'special effects' in the song. Charulatha Mani, Carnatic singer who also dabbles in films, and who holds a doctorate in 'Hybridising Carnatic Music and Early Opera' from Australia, spoke about how the powerful lyrics nudged her to try the tremolo in some passages and how it met the music composer's approval. Charulatha is a familiar face to followers of both Carnatic and film music. She's always been this bridge between the two with her Isai Payanam series, where she makes classical music more approachable to those who don't know it, using film music as a guide of sorts. Inversely, this also helps purists see the innate classical influence on film music, sometimes unexpectedly in pulsating numbers. She's rendered some too — more famously, 'Uchi mandaila' and 'Chillax', both for music director Vijay Antony. 'When I read Karthik Netha's lyrics, I knew it was a lullaby, but the words 'Kaatha vaaren' felt like a mother's reassurance. There was also a tinge of pain and helplessness. The lines 'Pinju veral enge, konjum kural enge' (Where are the tiny fingers, where is that affectionate voice), tempted me to try the tremolo, which dates back to the Early Opera period and was the top ornamentation of that time. Rahman sir said that it sounded effective, and so we used it for the poignant lines,' Charulatha says. The tremolo lends a trembling effect to the voice. 'It is the ornament that connects to the soul,' adds Charulatha. 'In a strange way, this showed me yet again that what we learn stays with us, and resurfaces when we least expect it to.' And then the researcher in Charulatha takes over. 'The tremolo was considered important to bring emotion back to music after the spiritual bent of the Renaissance Era. And my PhD was on the 17th Century Italian Opera, when Claudio Monteverdi composed the first opera L'Orfeo in 1607, in the city of Mantua.' Why did someone tuned to Carnatic and film music seek the opera? Charulatha credits her husband Karthik Balasubramaniam with this. 'I entered a world of music I had not even been familiar with, outside the Carnatic realm and Western pop. He introduced me to Puccini, Verdi, Wagner, coloratura singing in Bellini and Donizetti.' And then, she introduced him to the earliest opera ever, with the work of Claudio Monteverdi when she started her PhD. 'That is an interesting time in music. There was a lot of cross-cultural pollination between the East and the West. Oriental sounds traversed through Venice, which was seen as a hub of multi-culturalism. They were privy to sounds we are still discovering through their scores that are heavily ornamented. When you look at a bar, a measure of time in music, they've gone up to the 1/64th bar. Their passaggio is similar to the sangathis and brighas. And, it's all been written down, note to note.' When doing her PhD, Charulatha delved deeper into opera music. 'My professors were experts in early opera, and I saw the commonalities with our music. I learnt Italian and, under their guidance, travelled to Mantua, where Monteverdi lived and worked. 'La musica meets Saraswati' was a fusion piece in my production Monteverdi Reimagined. All this cross-cultural integration has resulted in interesting things — Charulatha published several papers from her thesis, learnt to support her voice better with diaphragmatic breathing and navigate intricate sangathis with ease. Most importantly, she says, 'it taught me to bring back the emotional connect in singing'. This helped her immensely in film singing. These interactions also saw Charulatha go back to her roots and discover that Musiri Subramania Iyer sang the tremolo very naturally. Interestingly, when Charulatha began her career in film music in 2007 with 'kuthu' songs, there was not much protest of the kind that greeted the late actress Srividya (daughter of the stalwart ML Vasanthakumari) when she sang 'Vethala potta sokkula' in the 1992 Karthik-starrer Amaran. 'I think my audience was ready for me to make that transition. I am their 'chella ponnu' (fond child) and they knew I was not someone who would be satisfied walking the regular path. Sometimes, after Isai Payanam, they would request me to sing these film songs, and I'd oblige. GS Mani Sir was the pioneer who bridged classical and film music in the form of a lec-dem, and I was tempted to take it to the concert stage, because both gave me so much joy, and I wanted people to experience that joy of discovery and the knowledge that every form of music dips into a common pool. Carnatic music is usually consumed with a certain sense of reverence. The series helped democratise classical music, and made it more accessible.' Other than singing, Charulatha has also published academic papers — there are not many practitioners who publish. 'When I started, and wanted to find citations, I was primarily reading Western researchers speaking about Carnatic music from their perspective. It flummoxed me that while on a quest to decolonise music, we were still dependent on their earlier writing. As an insider, my perspective was very different, and that is something my supervisors valued. But, because I was seeing it through the lens of academic rigour, I developed objective clarity too. But, it was not an easy position to be in.' Artistic research is a burgeoning field. And when Charulatha did her post-doctoral studies in lullabies, she received a grant to work with refugee and migrant mothers in the perinatal phase in Brisbane, Australia. 'They would all sing in their language, and I got to hear so many lullabies. I published a book Sing to Connect. But, more importantly, they spoke of refugee camps where they lost kids, found it hard to even get a meal. I was with them for 11 Tuesdays, and it was probably the most enriching experience.' She might probably add to it the Thug Life experience, because it came to her after five long years — her last was the Mahanati hit number 'Sada nannu'. 'I recorded 'Anju vanna' in December 2023, and instinctively knew this was special, not just because of the people involved. In just 72 hours after the song released, life changed. It has left me with — and I'm borrowing Karthik Netha's words — puthunarchi (a feeling of being refreshed).'
