Chennai, 4 June

Noted actor Kamal Haasan shared the stage with the 'Thug Life' stars including Silambarasan here on Wednesday, but did not make any comments on the row related to his remark that Kannada was born out of Tamil language.

Haasan, in his address, spoke about the hard work of the film crew and international quality of technicians, who were behind the making of 'Thug Life, which is set for release on 5 June, and added, "I should thank the entire state of Tamil Nadu which stood behind me." His comment assumes significance in the wake of the controversy following his remark on the evolution of Kannada langauge.

The actor said he also fully realised the meaning of the "Uyire, Urave, Tamizhe," slogan he used in his public addresses. The three words, when used together conveys a deep love for the Tamil language and his great bond with it.

Incidentally, Haasan used this tagline even in the ‘Thug Life’ promotional event in Chennai during which he commented on the development of Kannada language.

This is the first public appearance of Haasan after the Karnataka High Court criticised him on 3 June in connection with his ‘Kannada was born out of Tamil’ comment.

Producers of 'Thug Life' informed the Karnataka High Court that the movie will not be released in Karnataka on 5 June when it will be screened across the country.

Observing that a "single apology could have resolved the situation," Justice M Nagaprasanna had said, "freedom of expression cannot be extended to the extent of hurting someone's sentiment, of a mass in particular...Spoken words cannot be taken back, and they can only be apologised....you cannot unscramble the scrambled egg." PTI