Kamal Haasan on Kannada: ‘Single apology could have resolved [it],’ says High Court

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday, 3 June, made some caustic observations as it rapped actor-politician Kamal Haasan for refusing to apologise for his "Kannada was born out of Tamil" remark while hearing a plea seeking protection for the release of his movie Thug Life in the state.

The movie will not be released in Karnataka on 5 June, the scheduled date for the pan-India release, its producers told the court on Tuesday, following which the court postponed the hearing to 10 June.

Haasan's production house Raaj Kamal Films International had sought adequate security for the movie's release in the state amid widespread protests and a boycott call by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) following the actor's remark. The KFCC has also demanded that Haasan apologise.

Observing that a "single apology (by Haasan) could have resolved the situation," Justice Nagaprasanna said, "Freedom of expression cannot be extended to the extent of hurting someone's sentiment, of a mass in particular."

Noting that the actor's recent statement has stirred up a hornets' nest and triggered significant unrest among the people of Karnataka, the judge said he has undermined the sentiment around the Kannada language attached to it by the people of the state.

"Language is an emotional and cultural identity of a people," the court observed, and stressed that no individual has the right to make comments that undermine the pride of an entire linguistic community.

Justice Nagaprasanna asked, "Are you (Kamal Hassan) a historian or a linguist to make such a statement? No language is born out of another. A single apology could have resolved the situation."

"Jala, nela and bashe (water, land, and language) are crucial to citizens. The division of this country itself was based on linguistic lines," he observed.

Pointing out that C. Rajagopalachari (then governor-general of India) made a similar statement about the language but apologised for it, the judge said, "...If Rajagopalachari could tender a public apology 75 years ago, why can't you (Kamal Haasan)? For your commercial interest, you have approached this court seeking police protection [in] a situation created by you."

Citing from the petition that Rs 300 crore has been spent on the movie Thug Life and that after Nayagan, this was the first film made by Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam together, Justice Nagaprasanna said, "You (Haasan) know the importance (of the movie), but you can't make a statement (of apology)... You want your film to run smoothly in a state whose sentiments you have hurt. If you are not concerned about it, why do you want it to be run in Karnataka? Leave it."