Pro-Kannada Group Withdraws Protest Against Kamal Haasan’s Thug Life Post SC Order

In a recent development, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) president Praveen Shetty stated on Wednesday that the organisation will not oppose the release of Kamal Haasan’s upcoming film Thug Life in Karnataka.

This follows a Supreme Court order directing the Karnataka government to ensure the film’s release, despite protests from pro-Kannada groups over Kamal Haasan’s past comments on the Kannada language which sparked massive outrage.

Praveen Shetty told ANI, “We are not opposing the release of the movie Thug Life of Kamal Haasan. It was a simple issue. After hurting the sentiments of Karnataka by saying that the Kannada language has been born out of the Tamil language, he should have apologised as per the suggestions given by the Karnataka HC. But he went to the Supreme Court. Now, the Supreme Court has given an order, so we will accept it. Curbing activism by deploying police is against the Constitution and the law of the land.”

Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the state government to explain within 24 hours why the film had not been released. The Court emphasized that a certified film cannot be blocked by vigilante actions.

In response to the Court’s order, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar urged all pro-Kannada organisations to abide by the ruling. “We should all respect the order given by the court in the Kamal Haasan case. I appeal to pro-Kannada organisations that we should not cross our limits and should be peaceful. No one should take the law into their own hands. Our state is a peace-loving state,” he said.

Haasan’s Thug Life got embroiled in controversy following the film’s audio launch in Chennai. During the event, Haasan opened with an emotional tribute to his Tamil roots, saying, “Uyire Urave Tamizhe,” meaning “My life and my family is Tamil.” Addressing Kannada superstar Shivarajkumar, who shared the stage with him, Haasan added, “Your language was born out of Tamil. So, you are included in that line.”

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) then banned the release of Thug Life in the state if the actor did not apologise.

It also stars Trisha, Silambarasan, Abhirami, Sanya Malhotra, Ashok Selvan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf and Vaiyapuri.