Kamal Haasan's Thug Life To Be Banned In Karnataka Over 'Kannada Born Out Of Tamil' Remark?

Kamal Haasan has put his upcoming movie Thug Life in trouble with his claims that 'Kannada language is born out of Tamil' as it has met with severe criticism from Kannadigas.

Pro-Kannada organisations are now demanding that the actor apologise for his remarks failing which his upcoming movie Thug Life will be banned in Karnataka.

Netizens are demanding the Karnataka government to ban the movie in Karnataka using a hash tag #BanThugLife. One user said, ""Ban his film THUG LIFE in Karnataka. Kamal should have had some sense before blabbering white lies."

Another user said, " "I'm a massive fan of @ikamalhaasan, but I can't stay silent when someone disrespects our culture. @NimmaShivanna, why aren't you addressing this? I urge all Kannadigas to stand united and demand a ban on his upcoming movie, Thug Life. Let's protect our heritage."

Narayana Gowda, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike chief, said, "You tell whatever you want about Tamil, but if you talk about Kannada, you will lose respect. Don't talk about Kannada. What does he know about Kannada? Is he a linguistic expert or historian? He lacks common sense,"

Gowda further argued that Haasan's statement is detrimental at a time when relations between Kannadigas and Tamils have been improving. He views the comment as a "low-level political ploy" that undermines the "united struggle of the people of South India against Hindi imposition" by creating divisions among linguistic communities. "This is not just an insult to Kannadigas, but an act that undermines the dignity of all languages ​​of South India," he added in a social media post.

Praveen Shetty, president of the Kannada Rakshana Vedike (KRV), has said that the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ban Thug Life in Karnataka. "The said movie should not be released in Karnataka. We see Shivaraj Kumar as a person who is carrying forward the legacy of his late father Dr Rajkumar and Kamal made those comments in front of Shivanna,"

He recalled how Karnataka had supported Kamal Haasan's movie (Vishwaroopam) when it was banned in Tamil Nadu. There is a growing demand from Kannadigas to ban the movie in Karnataka.

Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, is scheduled to be released on June 5. The movie has Silambarasan aka STR and Trisha in key roles.

Speaking at a promotional event of Thug Life, Kamal Haasan started off his speech with the phrase "Uyire Urave Tamizhe", meaning "my life and my family is Tamil language". Thanking Shivaraj Kumar, he stated, "This is my family in that place. That's why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That's why I began my speech saying life, relationship and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it)."

However, the Karnataka government nor the KFCC has not responded to the controversy, yet.