'Not Qualified To Talk About Language': Kamal Haasan Amid Row Over His Remarks

Kamal Haasan triggered a controversy with his recent remark at the audio launch of his upcoming film ‘Thug Life’ in Chennai, where he claimed that 'Tamil gave birth to Kannada'.

Veteran film actor Kamal Haasan speaks during the premier of a documentary.

Source : PTI

Actor Kamal Haasan, whose stoke a controversy with his claim that 'Tamil gave birth to Kannada', clarified on Wednesday saying politicians are not qualified to talk about language. 

The clarification came after Haasan triggered a massive row with his recent remark at the audio launch of his upcoming film ‘Thug Life’ in Chennai, where he claimed that 'Tamil gave birth to Kannada'.

"Politicians are not qualified to talk about language, they don’t have the education enough to talk about it - that includes me also. So let’s leave all these very in-depth discussions to the historians, archaeologists and linguists," Haasan said at an event. 

VIDEO | 'Kannada born from Tamil': Actor Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) responds to language controversy. Here's what he said:

“...Politicians are not qualified to talk about language, they don’t have the education enough to talk about it - that includes me also. So let’s leave… pic.twitter.com/23I6Kaq8NA

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 28, 2025

Haasan had made the controversial remarks during the audio launch of his latest film ‘Thug Life’ in Chennai a couple of days ago. The comments have sparked outrage among several pro-Kannada outfits. These groups staged protests against Hassan in various parts of the state like Belagavi, Mysuru Hubballi, Bengaluru, among others.

It also received sharp attack from several leaders, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Siddaramaiah said the Kannada language has a very long history, and actor Kamal Haasan is unaware of it. 

"Kannada language has a very long history....he (Kamal Hassan) doesn't know," Siddaramaiah told reporters.