Ram Gopal Varma deletes post supporting Kamal Haasan amid Thug Life row

India Today

2 days ago

Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma came forward to support actor Kamal Haasan amid boycott calls against his film 'Thug Life' following Haasan's remarks on the Tamil and Kannada language that offended certain groups. Varma called the threats to ban the film 'a new kind of hooliganism' in his social media, which he later deleted.The filmmaker shared the post on his X handle, writing, "DEMOCRACY's new name is INTOLERANCE.., irrespective of factual correctness, threats to ban Thug Life in Karnataka unless Kamal Haasan apologises, amounts to a new kind of HOOLIGANISM." He later deleted the post.advertisementTake a look at the deleted post:
Haasan has approached the Karnataka high court seeking the release of his upcoming film 'Thug Life.' The release of the Mani Ratnam directorial has been stalled by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce over his controversial statements on the origin of the Kannada language.During a promotional event for 'Thug Life', the actor said, "Kannada was born out of Tamil." His remarks led to backlash from pro-Kannada groups and public burning of his effigies. Haasan refused to apologise in his X post and wrote, "Love will never apologise. I will apologise only if I am wrong. If I am not, I will not (sic)."advertisementWhile reflecting on his remarks amid backlash, the actor, in an interview with PTI said, "So lets leave all this very in-depth discussions to historians, archaeologists and language experts. If you look at it from the northern point of view, according to them it is right, if you look at it from Thenkumari (south), then what I say is right. There is a third angle to it-- the scholars, the language experts. This is not an answer, an explanation. Love will never apologise."'Thug Life' marks the second collaboration between Ratnam and Haasan after 38 years. The actor-director duo earlier worked together in 'Nayakan.' The film also features Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Joju George, Nassar, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf and Baburaj in crucial roles.'Thug Life' is co-produced by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies and Red Giant Movies. The film is scheduled to release on June 5 worldwide.Tune InTrending Reel