Ajay Devgn's national language comment sparks political controversy in Karnataka

Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah has reacted to the Twitter exchange between Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn and Kannada actor Sudeep and said Hindi was never and will never be India's National Language -- the main issue of the exchange between Ajay Devgn and Sudeep. "I am proud to be a Kannadiga," the former CM wrote adding that it is the duty of every Indian to respect linguistic diversity of the country. "Each language has its own rich history for its people to be proud of," Siddaramaiah said. The controversy started after Sudeep answered a question on KGF 2 being called a pan-India film. He said Hindi is no more a national language and Bollywood should say they are doing pan-India films (by dubbing their films in other languages).

Hindi was never & will never be our National Language.

It is the duty of every Indian to respect linguistic diversity of our Country.

Each language has its own rich history for its people to be proud of.

I am proud to be a Kannadiga!! https://t.co/SmT2gsfkgO

— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 27, 2022

To this, Ajay Devgn reacted and said if Hindi is not the National Language, then why Kannada films are being dubbed in Hindi. "@KicchaSudeep my brother, according to you if Hindi is not our National Language, then why do you dub your mother tongue movies in Hindi and release them? Hindi was, is and always will be our mother tongue and national language. Jan Gan Man," Ajay Devgn tweeted in Hindi.Actor Sudeep replied to Ajay Devgn's Hindi tweet and said what he meant was completely different and was in a totally different context. "Hello @ajaydevgn sir.. the context to why i said tat line is entirely different to the way I guess it has reached you. Probably wil emphasis on why the statement was made when I see you in person. It wasn't to hurt, Provoke or to start any debate. Why would I sir. I love and respect every language of our country sir. I would want this topic to rest,,, as I said the line in a totally different context. Mch luv and wshs to you always. Hoping to seeing you soon," actor Sudeep tweeted. The ‘row’ was put to rest after Ajay Devgn said he always thought of the film industry as one. and that something might have lost in translation. Actor Sudeep said translations and translations are perspectives and he would have been happy had he received a tweet from Ajay Devgn for "a creative reason'. 

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai also slammed the Runway 34 actor for his comments. “Our states were formed because of languages. Regional languages have been given importance. Sudeep’s statement is right and everyone should respect that," Bommai said. Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar too weighed in on the debate, and said, “There are 19,500 mother tongues spoken in India. Our love for India feels the same in every language." “As a proud Kannadiga and a proud Congressman let me remind everyone that Congress created linguistic states so that no one language dominates another. #UnityInDiversity," DKS said in a post on Twitter. Former Karnataka CM and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy also posted a long Twitter thread on his opinions on the row, saying there was nothing in Sudeep’s statement to find fault with. “Actor @KicchaSudeep saying that Hindi is not a National Language is correct. There is nothing to find fault in his statement. Actor @ajaydevgn is not only hyper in nature but also shows his ludicrous behaviour," he said.“ Just because a large population speaks Hindi, it doesn’t become a National Language. Less than 9 States, Kashmir-Kanyakumari, have Hindi as 2nd, 3rd language or not even that. This being situation what is the truth in Ajay Devgan’s statement? What do you mean by not to dub?," he further said. He added that Devgan must realise that Kannada cinema is outgrowing Hindi film industry. “Because of encouragement by Kannadigas Hindi cinema has grown. Devgan shouldn’t forget that his first movie ‘Phool aur Kaante’ ran for a year in Bengaluru," he said.

Actor @KicchaSudeep saying that Hindi is not a National Language is correct. There is nothing to find fault in his statement. Actor @ajaydevgn is not only hyper in nature but also shows his ludicrous behaviour. 1/7

— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) April 28, 2022