'You may be Kamal Haasan or anybody but can't hurt sentiments of masses': K'taka HC raps 'Thug Life' actor over language row

The court passed the remark after Haasan moved the High Court for an intervention after his film Thug Life was banned in Karnataka over his remark.

Haasan had sought a direction from the court to the authorities for the release of the film.

Haasan's lawyer said his client's remark was taken out of context and then presented a reply by the actor, a Mani Ratnam film slated for June 5 release.

Rapping the senior actor-turned-politician, the court said as quoted by Live Law, "There is no apology in it. You may be Kamala Haasan or anybody, you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses. The division of this country is on linguistic lines.

"A public figure cannot make such statements. What has happened because of it is unrest, disharmony. People of Karnataka only asked for an apology. Now you come here seeking protection."

The court further questioned, "On what basis have you made the statement, are you a historian, linguist. On what basis did you speak?"

What is the controversy about?

Speaking at an event in Chennai ahead of his upcoming film Thug Life's release, Haasan had said: "Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it)."

The comments stirred a sharp row in Karnataka with state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Vijayendra Yediyurappa calling the actor's behaviour "uncultured" and accusing him of insulting Kannada.

"One should love one's mother tongue, but showing disrespect in its name is uncultured behavior. Especially artists should have the culture of respecting every language. It is the height of arrogance and arrogance that an actor @ikamalhaasan who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada by including actor Shivarajkumar in the glorification of his Tamil language," the state BJP chief said.

The controversy spiralled with pro-Kannada groups in Karnataka burning the actor's posters. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) announced a ban on the film unless Haasan issues a public apology.

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 an FIR with Bengaluru Police against Kamal Haasan for his remarks.