South Indian cinema icon Kamal Haasan has stirred controversy with his recent comments made at the Thug Life audio launch in Chennai. During his address, the veteran actor spoke passionately about his cultural identity, delivering a statement that has since gone viral—and not without backlash.
Beginning his speech with the words, “Uyire Urave Tamizhe,” which he translated as “my life and my family is Tamil language,” Kamal emphasized his deep bond with Tamil heritage. He then extended that sentiment to fellow actor Shivarajkumar, stating, “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.”
This assertion linking the Kannada language to Tamil heritage did not go down well in Karnataka. Pro-Kannada groups, including the Kannada Rakshana Vedike, strongly criticized the remark. According to Praveen Shetty, a leader of the organization, “Kamal Haasan said Tamil is better than Kannada and Kannada only after Tamil was born. We are warning Kamal, you need business in Karnataka? And yet insulting Kannada.”
His reaction continued with a more aggressive tone: “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.”
According to reports, a group of activists had gathered at a promotional venue in Bengaluru where Kamal Haasan was expected to appear. They had planned to demonstrate by throwing black ink in protest of his statements. However, the actor allegedly received prior notice of the planned protest and chose to avoid the event, further intensifying the tension.
