Bengaluru, 3 June

Slamming actor Kamal Haasan for "speaking insensitively" about Kannada, veteran BJP leader BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday said, “apologising does not make anyone smaller, nor does arrogance make anyone greater”.

Actor-politician Haasan's statement claiming that "Kannada was born out of Tamil" sparked widespread outrage among pro-Kannada groups and cultural organisations.

Taking to X, the former chief minister said, 'Kannada is truth, Kannada is eternal' is not just the rallying cry of Kannadigas, "but it is also the pledge of Kannadigas towards mother Bhuvaneshwari, the deity of Kannada".

"Many senior linguistic experts have demonstrated that Kannada did not originate from any specific language," he added. "(Hassan’s) behaviour, which unnecessarily disrupts peace, harmony, and unity, is not right. He has hurt the sentiments of crores of Kannadigas, and he must respectfully apologise to Kannada and Kannadigas."

Haasan, meanwhile, writing to the KFCC, asserted that his love for Kannada was genuine and acknowledged the film body's concern.

He said he only intended to convey that "we are all one, and from the same (linguistic) family," and did not mean to diminish the Kannada language in any way.

The actor added that "like Tamil, Kannada has a proud literary and cultural tradition," which he has long admired.

He had great respect for the love that Kannadigas had for their mother tongue, he wrote.

"I have always stood for the equal dignity of all Indian languages and remain opposed to the dominance of any one language over another, as such imbalance undermines the linguistic fabric of India," he added.

The actor said cinema must remain a bridge between people and not a wall that divides them. "This was the intent of my statement and I never have been nor would ever want to give any room for public unrest and animosity," Haasan said.

Meanwhile, the KFCC, after an emergency executive committee meeting, reiterated that Haasan must withdraw his statement and apologise.