Complaint filed against Kamal Haasan by pro-Kannada group for ‘Kannada born out of Tamil’ remark

During the audio launch of Thug Life, veteran actor Kamal Haasan made a remark that did not sit well with Kannadigas—that “Kannada was born out of Tamil”. Many politicians, including Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra, we quick to bash the actor, with Vijayendra demanding the actor to issue an “unconditional apology”.

The actor later clarified that his comments were made out of love and “love will never apologise”.

Now, a pro-Kannada organisation, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, has filed a complaint against the actor for “hurting sentiments”. According to PTI, the complaint is lodged under Praveen Shetty at the RT Nagar police station in Bengaluru. It alleged that Haasan’s statement "hurt the sentiments of Kannadigas" and has "sown seeds of poison between Kannadigas and Tamils".

"Every time a new Tamil movie is released, they have been constantly hurting the self-respect of Kannadigas. Such statements have been made continuously and have further disrupted peace and order between Kannadigas and Tamils," the complaint added.

A senior police officer said that, while a complaint was filed, no FIR was registered. “We are seeking a legal opinion, and accordingly, we will take further action in the matter."

What did Kamal Haasan say?

At the audio launch for his film Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, Haasa began his speech with, "Uyire Urave Tamizhe", meaning "My life and my family are Tamil language".

Directing his comment to Shivarajkumar, a Kannada actor who was also present at the event, Haasan said, "This is my family in that place. That's why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That's why I began my speech by saying life, relationship and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it)."

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