Without imposition, we will learn: Kamal Haasan on language row

New Delhi: Where does Kamal Haasan stand on the issue of imposition of Hindi in the south? “I stand with Punjab. I stand with Karnataka. I stand with Andhra,” is his quick reply.

The pan-India superstar’s latest film Thug Life, the 234th in a 65-year career, released in theatres this week amid controversy over his comment that Kannada was born out of Tamil. He refused to apologise and the film did not release in Karnataka.

"I am the actor from 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye'...,” Haasan told PTI during a recent visit to the news agency’s headquarters, referring to his 1981 hit Hindi film about a Tamil boy and his romance with his Hindi speaking neighbour.

“Without imposition, we will learn. Don't impose, because this is ultimately education and we must take the shortest route to education… and not put hurdles in its way," the actor said.

The ruling DMK in his home state Tamil Nadu has long opposed the three-language policy introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP). The party has repeatedly accused the BJP-led NDA government of attempting to “impose Hindi”, a charge the Centre has denied.

Stressing that the imposition of a particular language only hampers the learning process, the 70-year-old said, "I stand with Punjab. I stand with Karnataka. I stand with Andhra. This is not only place which is resenting imposition."

The Indian cinema stalwart, hugely popular in the south as well as in the north with films such as “Nayakan”, “Thevar Magan”, "Sadma", "Saagar" and Chachi 420" that bridged language divides, said if you are truly looking at “international breakthrough” you must learn one language.

“And English seems to be fair enough. You can do Spanish also, or Chinese. But I think the most practical thing where the shortest route to that is that we have 350 years of English education, slowly but steadily. So when you suddenly replace it, it's all over again. You make unnecessarily many people illiterate, especially in Tamil Nadu.

"You suddenly force all through Hindi and you tell them that you will not get your job beyond the Vindhyas, then you start wondering, what about the promises? What about my language? Am I not one of the 22 (official languages)? These are the questions that are coming."

Tamil is one of the 22 official languages of the country, apart from Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sindhi, Telugu, Urdu, Bodo, Santhali, Maithili and Dogri.

The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) had said it would not let “Thug Life” release unless Haasan apologised for his Kannada-Tamil comment at a promotional event in Chennai.

His banner Raajkamal Films International filed a plea before the Karnataka High Court seeking protection for the release of the film, which sees him reuniting with Mani Ratnam after “Nayakan” in 1987.

After a rap from the court over the remark, the producers said “Thug Life” will not be released in Karnataka.