Pro-Kannada Outfit Files Police Complaint Against Tamil Actor Kamal Haasan

Bengaluru: A pro-Kannada organization has filed a complaint with the RT Nagar police in Bengaluru against Tamil actor Kamal Haasan for his controversial statements on Kannada language.

Karnataka Rakshana Vedike President Praveen Kumar, in his complaint stated, ''While speaking at the audio launch of the film 'Thug Life' in Chennai, Kamal Haasan made a controversial statement that Kannada was born from Tamil, hurting the sentiments of Kannadigas. He has sown seeds of hatred between Kannadigas and Tamils ​​and insulted Kannadigas. A case should be registered and action taken against those who make such statements.''

"We have received a complaint. But no FIR has been registered yet. We are seeking legal opinion. Accordingly, we will take further action in the matter," said a senior police officer.

Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan has come out with an explanation on his remark on the origin of Kannada language/ The actor clarified that his statement on the language were based on love and historical records. "I did not make the statement to hurt anyone. I said what I inferred from historians," he said.

Kamal Haasan and politicians cannot speak authoritatively on any language. "They share information obtained from historians and language scholars. People of Tamil Nadu people do not belittle any language or culture. Apart from Tamils, Menon and Reddy have become our Chief Ministers. A Kannada Iyengar has also been elected as our Chief Minister. If there is a distinction of language, will such a thing happen? When a problem arose in Chennai, the first people to extend a helping hand were the Kannada children," he said.

He said controversy is purely political. "Politicians do not have the knowledge to comment on historical facts about the origin of a language, and neither do I. Please stop the in-depth discussions that have taken place on the issue. Let the discussions on language be conducted by scholars. I have also spoken on the issue with actor Shivraj Kumar. They all understood what I meant. If I have said anything, it was not for the sake of controversy. It was based on love, and love does not forgive", Kamal Haasan said.

The controversy arose from the remark made by Kamal Haasan during the audio launch of his new film Thug Life in Chennai said Tamil language gave birth to Kannada. After the statement, Karnataka BJP President Y Vijayendra came forward to demand an apology from Kamal Haasan. He had alleged that Kamal Haasan was disrespecting Kannada in an attempt to glorify his own mother tongue.

"Artists should have a culture of respecting all languages. It is arrogant for actor Kamal Haasan, who has acted in many languages to insult Kannada. Kannada has been a prominent language in many parts of India, including India, for centuries," Vijayendra said.

He further said, Kamal Haasan, who says will bring unity in South India, has been insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments of people for the last few years. "Now he has insulted Kannada by hurting the self-esteem of 6.5 crore Kannadigas. Kamal Haasan should immediately apologize unconditionally to Kannadigas", he said.