Karnataka HC urges Kamal Haasan to apologise for ‘Kannada is born out of Tamil' remark
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday verbally urged actor and politician Kamal Haasan to apologise for having said recently that Kannada 'is born out of Tamil', Live Law reported.
'You may be Kamal Haasan or anybody, you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses,' the court said.
Haasan made the remarks on May 24 at the audio launch for the Tamil film Thug Life in Chennai, after which pro-Kannada organisations held protests demanding that he should apologise for them. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce warned that the release of Thug Life would be blocked unless Haasan issued a formal apology for his statement.
In this backdrop, the film's production house Raajkamal Films International moved the High Court seeking directions to ensure its release. However, Justice M Nagaprasanna, who heard the case on Tuesday, said that the actor's statements had caused 'unrest and disharmony' in Karnataka, Live Law reported.
'There are three things people are very emotional to, that is Nela, Jala and Bhashe, [land, water and language]... All these three things are important to any citizens,' The Hindu quoted the court as observing orally. 'You know division of this country is on linguistic lines. The states are formed on linguistic lines. So you [Haasan] Haasan] know importance of language.'
The judge said the actor could have resolved the issue with a simple apology.
The High Court also recalled that former Governor General of India C Rajagopalachari had apologised for making a similar statement in the 1950s, and asked why Haasan could not do the same.
Haasan's remarks
At the audio launch in Chennai on May 24, Haasan described his bond with the Tamil language with the words: ' Uyire Urave Tamizhe [My life and my family is Tamil].'
He addressed Kannada actor Shivarajkumar, who was at the event, and said: 'Actor Shivarajkumar is my family living in another state… Your language was born out of Tamil. So, you are included in that line.'
The actor's remarks sparked a furore in Karnataka, with pro-Kannada group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike threatening to boycott his film.
Members of the group tore posters of the film Thug Life in Bengaluru to protest the actor-politician's remarks. Other pro-Kannada organisations also staged protests in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Hubballi and Mysuru, demanding an apology from the actor.
On May 28, Haasan sought to clarify his remarks and said: 'I think what I said was said with a lot of love. Historians have taught me the language's history… I didn't mean anything.'
The film, directed by Mani Ratnam, is scheduled to be released on June 5. Among its producers is Red Giant Movies, a company owned by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Udhayanidhi Stalin. The film has been dubbed in several languages, including Kannada.
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