On July 4, the 31st Additional City Civil and Sessions Court in Bengaluru issued a temporary gag order against actor and politician Kamal Haasan, directing him not to make any public comments about the Kannada language. The directive comes in response to a suit filed on July 2 by Mahesh Joshi, chairman of the Kannada Sahitya Parishat, over Haasan’s controversial statement allegedly suggesting the superiority of Tamil over Kannada.
The Kannada Sahitya Parishat claimed that Haasan’s remark during the promotional event for his upcoming film Thug Life — in which he allegedly said, “Kannada was born out of Tamil” — deeply hurt the sentiments of Kannada-speaking people and undermined their language, literature, and cultural heritage.
In its ex-parte ad-interim order, the court acknowledged that the Parishat is legally empowered to safeguard the interests of Kannada and its speakers. It emphasized that immediate relief was necessary to prevent further damage.
“The defendant, his agents, representatives, or anyone acting through him are hereby restrained from making, posting, publishing, or distributing any statements that claim linguistic superiority over Kannada or defame its literature, language, or culture until the next hearing,” the court stated.
Thug Life, directed by Mani Ratnam and starring Kamal Haasan, was originally slated for release on June 5 across India. However, due to backlash in Karnataka over the language remark, the film’s release in the state was suspended. The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) demanded an apology from Haasan, which he refused, opting instead not to release the film in the state.
The matter escalated to the Supreme Court after the Karnataka High Court suggested an apology could resolve the standoff. On June 18, the Supreme Court ordered the Karnataka government to ensure the film’s smooth release and take strict action against any group attempting to block screenings.
Kamal Haasan, who was recently nominated as a Rajya Sabha MP from Tamil Nadu, has not responded publicly to the court order as of now.
