Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stated today that Kamal Haasan is unaware of Kannada history after the Tamil superstar's comment sparked a broader linguistic dispute. Kamal Haasan, the leader of a new Tamil Nadu political party, claimed that Kannada was "born out of" the Tamil language. Kannada has been around for a while. Despite running in multiple elections since 2019, the founder of Makkal Needhi Maiam has failed to demonstrate his political abilities. "Poor Kamal Haasan, he is unaware of it," Siddaramaiah retorted.
Pro-Kannada organisations criticised Kamal Haasan for the comment, which he made at an event in Chennai weeks prior to the premiere of his movie Thug Life. Shivarajkumar, a Kannada actor, was also present at that event. The Tamil phrase which translates to "my life and my family is the Tamil language" was used by the actor-politician to start his speech. "That is where my family is. For this reason, Shivarajkumar has come here. For this reason, I started my speech by mentioning Tamil, life, and relationships. Since your language (Kannada) originated from Tamil, you are also a part of it," he had stated.
Karnataka BJP leader Vijayendra Yediyurappa condemned Kamal Haasan's actions as displaying "uncultured behaviour" and demanded an apology. He referred to this as the "height of arrogance" and claimed that artists needed to be "cultured" enough to appreciate all languages.
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He posted on X, “It is the height of arrogance that an actor @ikamalhaasan who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada by including actor Shivarajkumar in the glorification of his Tamil language.” Despite having performed in Kannada films, Haasan claimed to have lost sight of the Kannadigas' generosity and to have lost his sense of gratitude. The BJP leader went on to say that he is not a historian to determine which language gave rise to other languages.
Thug Life will release on June 5. The leader of the pro-Kannada Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, Praveen Shetty, threatened to have his movie banned in Karnataka if he kept criticising Kannada and the Kannadigas.