'I Would Apologise If.......": Kamal Haasan On Kannada Language Row After Meet With Stalin Over Rajya Sabha Seat
Pro-Kannada groups have been criticising Kamal Haasan over his "Kannada born out of Tamil" remark and demanding his apology.
Published : May 30, 2025 at 2:30 PM IST
|Updated : May 30, 2025 at 5:22 PM IST
Chennai/Bengaluru: Tamil actor and politician Kamal Haasan on Friday said he would apologise only if he was wrong, asserting his faith in democracy and law, while responding to the Kannada language row.
The actor made this remarks after his meeting with Chief Minister MK Stalin after the actor was named as a candidate for one of the six seats up for grabs in the upcoming biennial Rajya Sabha elections from the state.
Haasan said everyone is aware of the true love he has for all the languages and that none will have a problem with that except those having an "agenda".
The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) president said: "It is a democracy. I believe in the law and justice. My love for Karnataka is true, Andhra Pradesh is true and Kerala is true".
"Nobody will suspect it except for those who have an agenda. I've been threatened earlier too, and if I am wrong, I would apologise. If I'm not, I won't that's how I have been. Don't try to tamper with it, it won't work," Haasan said.
Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said that Kamal Haasan is aware of the culture and sentiments of people of Karnataka. Kharge said, "Kamal Haasan is a veteran. He's in the hearts of a lot of people. He knows the culture. And the sentiments of people from Karnataka. Also, he's worked here before, and these are things that have already been laid to rest through history."
"I don't see the point of dragging this. It's all Dravidian languages. We have a common ancestry. We have common linguistic ancestry as well, and I think it's time that Hassan should look into the sentiments of the people. We are not saying that Tamil is better, Telugu is better, or Malayalam is better. We are all from the same Dravidian background. There are these things, of course, there are different. Linguistic attributes and historical attributes to each language, I think that should be respected," added Kharge, son of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
Earlier, Kamal said, "Tamil gave birth to Kannada," at the audio launch of "Thug Life" in Chennai. It did not bode well with many in the neighbouring Karnataka state. State BJP chief B Y Vijayendra accused the actor of 'disrespecting' Kannada and sought an unconditional apology from him.
Pro-Kannada groups raised protests against the thespian for his remarks. Some lodged police complaints against him. A film association in Karnataka has given an ultimatum to the veteran to apologise or else to forget his upcoming release "Thug Life," directed by ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam in Karnataka.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had rebuked the actor of being "unaware". "Kannada language has a very long history, he (Kamal Hassan) doesn't know," he said.
On his meeting with Stalin, the veteran actor said this was the first meeting with Stalin after he was named to the Rajya Sabha. "We were told what we were supposed to do to keep our nomination in order. We have been adviced how to frame it by those who have experience in doing it."
The actor answered that his truck with the DMK "is for a national cause", when asked why he had to align with the Dravidian party while he was vocally against it when he launched his party.
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