Kamal Haasan Gagged by Court Order Over Alleged Anti-Kannada Remarks: Actor Summoned After Language Controversy

Kamal Haasan's remark about the Kannada language during a Thug Life promotional event last month continues to have repercussions. The comment led to legal challenges, and the film faced a ban in Bengaluru.

A Bengaluru civil court has now issued an ex parte interim injunction, preventing the actor from making any future statements that could be considered offensive against the Kannada language or culture.

Kamal Haasan can't share defamatory posts about Kannada language

The ruling, issued on Friday, July 4th, follows a civil suit filed by Mahesh Joshi, President of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP). According to PTI, the petition sought to legally restrain Kamal Haasan from making "defamatory remarks" about the language and its cultural roots.

The court has ordered Kamal Haasan to refrain from “posting, making, writing, or publishing any statement or remarks claiming linguistic superiority over the Kannada language or making any statements against the Kannada language, literature, land, and culture.”

The actor has been summoned to appear in person for the next hearing, scheduled for August 30th.

Kamal Haasan's controversial remark about Kannada

In May, during a Thug Life promotional event in Bengaluru, Kamal Haasan stated that “Kannada was born out of Tamil.” This statement was met with disapproval from Kannada activists and cultural organizations. The situation escalated when Haasan declined to retract his statement or issue an apology. Consequently, Thug Life did not release in Karnataka, despite efforts from the production house and Kamal Haasan to appeal to the High Court.

About Thug Life

Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam, features Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and others in key roles. The film, unfortunately, did not perform well at the box office.