'Will Blacken Face, Ban Him': Kamal Haasan SLAMMED By Kannadigas For 'Kannada Born Out Of Tamil' Comment

Tamil superstar Kamal Haasan sparked a major controversy after he stated at an event in Chennai recently that the Kannada language was "born out of" Tamil language. This did not sit well with the people of Karnataka, who threatened to blacken the actor's face and boycott him in their state.

It all began when Haasan, during the audio launch of his film Thug Life in Chennai, stated, "My life and my family is Tamil language. Actor Shivarajkumar is my family living in another state. That's why he is here. That's why when I started my speech, I said ‘my life and my family is Tamil’. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil. So you are included in that line."

Kamal Haasan says Kannada came from Tamil

Hello @ikamalhaasan before making such claims, learn some real history. This land doesn’t need language lessons from Periyar fanatics

Kannada has a history spanning over 2,000 years, one of the world’s oldest living languages, with… pic.twitter.com/BQFUloI0Sg

— Akshay Akki ಅಕ್ಷಯ್ (@FollowAkshay1) May 27, 2025

Shivarajkumar, who is a Kannada actor, was present at the event and was seen cheering for Haasan. While he looked unbothered by the statement, the rest of Karnataka took offence to Haasan's words, and threatened him with dire consequences.

Pro-Kannada activists slam Kamal Haasan

Protests erupted in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka against Haasan on Tuesday, and pro-Kannada activists were reportedly seen tearing down the posters of Thug Life.

"Kannada Rakshana Vedike leader Praveen Shetty said,We are warning Kamal, you need business in Karnataka? And yet insulting Kannada. Today you were here in the state and we were ready to apply black ink to you and you’ve run away. We warn you, if you talk against Karnataka and people of state, there’ll be protests against you. We warn you, your movie will be banned in Karnataka."

BJP leader demands apology

Several activists also claimed that Haasan was scheduled to promote Thug Life in Bengaluru and they had gathered there with black ink to tarnish the actor, but he did not appear due to the protests.

ಮಾತೃಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಸಬೇಕು, ಆದರೆ ಅದರ ಹೆಸರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ದುರಭಿಮಾನ ಮೆರೆಯುವುದು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ ಹೀನ ನಡವಳಿಕೆಯಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಅದರಲ್ಲೂ ಕಲಾವಿದರಿಗೆ ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಂದು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನೂ ಗೌರವಿಸುವ ಸಂಸ್ಕಾರ ಇರಬೇಕು. ಕನ್ನಡವೂ ಸೇರಿದಂತೆ ಅನೇಕ ಭಾರತೀಯ ಭಾಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ನಟಿಸಿರುವ ನಟ @ikamalhaasan ತಮ್ಮ ತಮಿಳು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು ವೈಭವಿಕರಿಸುವ ಮತ್ತಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಟ… pic.twitter.com/PrfKX099lZ

— Vijayendra Yediyurappa (@BYVijayendra) May 27, 2025

BJP Karnataka State President BY Vijayendra also lashed out at Haasan, labelling his comment as "uncultured behaviour". "Kamal Haasan, who is supposed to bring harmony to South India, has been continuously insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments for the past few years. Now, he has insulted Kannada by hurting the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas. Kamal Haasan should immediately apologise unconditionally to Kannadigas," he tweeted.

Haasan is yet to react to the backlash. His team has not issued a statement or apology yet.

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