"Not Qualified To Talk About Language": Kamal Haasan Clarifies After Backlash

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan, who sparked a massive row with his comment on the Kannada language, has now issued a clarification. "What I said was said out of love, and a lot of historians have taught me language history. I didn't mean anything. Tamil Nadu is a state where a Menon has been our Chief Minister, where a Reddy has been our Chief Minister, a Tamil has been our Chief Minister, and a Kannadiga Iyengar has been our Chief Minister."

"Kannada was born out of Tamil," was the statement that triggered the controversy, uniting the BJP and Congress in their criticism of the veteran actor.

"Politicians not qualified to talk about language, including me," Mr Haasan said this evening.

The controversy spiralled as pro-Kannada groups in Karnataka burned Kamal Haasan's posters and a film association discussed a possible ban on him ahead of his upcoming release, "Thug Life," directed by ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam.

The activists claimed that Kannada has a history spanning thousands of years and demanded that the actor apologise to the people of the state. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a pro-Kannada organisation, went a step ahead and lodged a complaint with Bengaluru Police against Kamal Haasan for his remarks. The outfits also staged demonstrations in various parts of the state like Belagavi, Mysuru, Hubballi, Bengaluru, among others.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the Kannada language has a very long history, and that the actor was unaware of it. 

"Kannada language has a very long history....he (Kamal Hassan) doesn't know," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra accused Mr Haasan of "disrespecting" Kannada in his effort to glorify his own mother tongue. He also demanded that the actor issue an “unconditional apology to Kannadigas immediately”.