Kamal Haasan, who is busy promoting his upcoming film Thug Life with filmmaker Mani Ratnam, has found himself in the middle of a controversy. His comment that Kannada language was born out of Tamil sparked backlash on social media, with many netizens even wanting to boycott his new film. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has now demanded an apology from the actor over his remark and threatened him of banning Thug Life in Karnataka.
The actor fiercely responded to the warnings by pro-Kannada groups who threatened to boycott his film and demanded an apology for his comment on the Kannada language, “It is a democracy. I believe in the law and justice. My love for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh 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.”
#WATCH | Chennai: "It is a democracy. I believe in the law and justice. My love for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh 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… pic.twitter.com/ZtNMhPYETq
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2025
Earlier in a recent interview, Kamal Haasan issued a clarification on his comment over the Kannada language. “I think what I said was said with a lot of love. Historians have taught me the language history…I didn’t mean anything. And, let me tell you, Tamil Nadu is a place which has been open. I don’t say there is no other state like this. But a very rare state where a Menon (MG Ramachandran) has been our Chief Minister…a Reddy (Omandur Ramasamy Reddiyar) has been our Chief Minister, a Tamilian (M Karunanidhi) has been our Chief Minister and then a Kannadiga Iyengar has been our CM from Mandya,” the actor said as quoted by PTI.
The controversy erupted when at the audio launch of his upcoming film Thug Life in Chennai, Haasan opened with an emotional tribute to his Tamil roots, saying, “Uyire Urave Tamizhe” meaning ‘My life and my family is Tamil’. Turning to Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar, who shared the stage with him, Haasan added, “Your language was born out of Tamil. So, you are included in that line.”
While the remark appeared to be intended as a gesture of cultural unity, it was condemned by Kannada activists and netizens.
Meanwhile, Thug Life also stars Trisha, Silambarasan, Abhirami, Sanya Malhotra, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf and Vaiyapuri.
