Following the protest of pro-Kannada organisation in Karnataka for his alleged "derogative" remarks, Tamil film actor Sathyaraj, who is acting in the movie "Bahubali-2", tendered his apology for his remarks against Kannadigas nine years ago during a protest against Cauvery water issue with the neigbouring State.
The actor's apology came against the backdrop of some pro-Kannada outfits, who were staging agitations and threatened to stall the release of the Bahubali version two in Karnataka after viewing his remarks made nine years ago, in Youtube.
"I sincerely express my regret for the remarks made by me during Cauvery protest nine years ago", he said in a video message. Asserting that he was not against Kannadigas or Karnataka, Sathyaraj claimed that his assistant Shekar, who is a Kannadiaga, is with him for the last 30 years.
"In fact I had been invited to act in Kannada films, but I could not do so due to paucity of time", he added. Appealing for the smooth release of Bahubali-2, the actor said he do not want a movie made on such a grand scale by the hard work of thousands labourers and technicians to go waste.
"I was just a small actor in this big film", he said adding that in future if producers sense that because of me they might suffer losses, they need not approach him for signing films.
Stating that he would continue to raise his voice for the cause of Tamils, including the Cauvery and the Sri Lankan Tamils issues, Sathyaraj said instead of living and dying as an actor, he took more pride in living and dying as a "Tamilian" without superstition beliefs.
The actor also thanked all the associations who stood with him and helped to handle the issue. Notably, when the first part of Bahubali was screened on 2015, there were no protests anywhere.
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