Actor claims Kannada came from Tamil, and Karnataka unites crossways company lines to say — plenty is enough.
Kamal Haasan’s clapper seems to have landed him in very hot h2o again — this time in Karnataka. While promoting his upcoming cinema Thug Life in Chennai, the histrion claimed that Kannada originated from Tamil, background off a very political and ethnic storm.
In an unexpected twist, both the Congress-led Karnataka government and the BJP-led Opposition united forces to bang Haasan. CM Siddaramaiah brushed off the remark, calling it “ignorant,” patch BJP’s R Ashoka didn’t sustain support, labelling the histrion a “mental patient” and calling for a boycott of his films in the state.
Even pro-Kannada groups and cultural activists united the outrage, demanding an apology. BJP’s BY Vijayendra accused Haasan of “uncultured behaviour” and “glorifying Tamil while insulting Kannada,” especially in the front of worker Shivarajkumar.
Adding fuel to the flaming, Haasan — backed by DMK for a Rajya Sabha sit — doubled down in another promo event, locution, “We’re all Dravidians. Learn your neighbour’s language before worrying most Hindi.”
Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad and Tamil Nadu BJP’s Tamilisai Soundararajan also jumped in, calling the remarks divisive and politically motivated.
Moral of the story? Mixing linguistics with politics in South India is a surefire way to set the stage — and social media — ablaze.
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