'Apologise immediately': Karnataka BJP slams Kamal Haasan for 'Kannada born out of Tamil' remark

Kamal Haasan has drawn criticism over his recent comment during the audio launch of his upcoming film Thug Life. The actor, when discussing his love for his mother tongue, Tamil, also said, “Kannada was born out of Tamil,” a statement that did not sit well with Kannadigas.

Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra was quick to react to the remark, demanding that the actor apologise for “disrespecting” Kannada in an effort to glorify his own language. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he wrote, “One should love one's mother tongue, but showing disrespect in its name is uncultured behaviour. Especially artists should have the culture of respecting every language.”

He further said it was a distasteful remark coming from Haasan, especially given his past experience in the Kannada film industry. “The fact that Kannada is the most respected language in the world should be known to narrow-minded people like Kamal Haasan,” he said.

Vijayendra also accused the actor of consistently insulting Hinduism and offending religious sentiments. “Kamal Haasan should immediately apologize unconditionally to Kannadigas,” he demanded.    

The BJP leader criticised the actor for spewing facts outside his expertise, stating that he is no historian to decide where which languages are born. “The Kannada language, which has a history of more than two and a half thousand years, symbolizes prosperity and represents harmony on the map of India.”

What did Kamal Haasan say?

At the audio launch for his film Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, Haasa began his speech with, "Uyire Urave Tamizhe", meaning "My life and my family are Tamil language".

Directing his comment to Shivarajkumar, a Kannada actor, who was also present at the event, Haasan said, "This is my family in that place. That's why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That's why I began my speech by saying life, relationship and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it)."

How did the internet react?

Social media, particularly Kannadigas, were fired up, bashing the actor for his remark. One user posted, “Kamal Hassan movies will be banned in Karnataka forever if things escalate,” while another penned that they would support a boycott of Haasan’s films as well as join any protest against the actor.

Shivarajkumar also faced backlash from netizens, who noted his lack of reaction to the statement, simply nodding along in agreement with what Haasan said.