'Thug Life' row: No self-respecting Kannadiga will watch film: Kannada outfit

Bengaluru, Jun 17 (PTI) Following the Supreme Court's (SC) direction to the Karnataka government on Tuesday to ensure the screening of the Kamal Haasan-starrer movie 'Thug Life' in the state, pro-Kannada outfit Karnataka Rakshna Vedike (KRV) said they will appeal to people to boycott the film.

"Why would any self-respecting Kannadiga go and watch this film when Haasan, who is neither a linguist nor a historian, foolishly says things that are disrespectful to our language," H Shivarama Gowda, State President of KRV, one of the pro-Kannada outfits that has been pushing for an apology, said.

A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan was hearing a petition filed by Bengaluru resident, M Mahesh Reddy, seeking to ensure the safe and unimpeded screening of 'Thug Life'.

Hasaan, in a promotional event of 'Thug Life', in Chennai, had said Kannada was born out of Tamil, triggering a blizzard of protests and calls for banning 'Thug Life' in Karnataka.

Gowda said they will respect the SC's decision that filmmakers and producers have the right to release movies, but added that they will appeal to people of Karnataka to boycott the film in their individual capacity when it is released here.

The issue is not about the film, it is about actor Kamal Haasan's statement on Kannada language, said M Narasimhalu, President of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC).

"We welcome the decision of the Supreme Court, and we will follow whatever they tell us to. But we also stand with Kannada people, government, and the pro-Kannada outfits. His statement hurt our sentiments. So, the issue is not about the film, it is about what he said," said Narasimhalu to PTI.

He also said it was in fact Haasan who had informed the court that he would not release the film on June 5. "We only wanted him to apologise for what he said," he added.

N M Suresh, Former President of KFCC and the Vice President of Film Federation of India, said, ultimately, it's the public's decision. By being against the Kannada language, Haasan did himself a disfavour, added Suresh.

"In fact, Kannadigas have always welcomed films from other languages, including Tamil. 'Thug Life' is declared a flop film, but trust me, it would have done better business in Bengaluru than anywhere else. If you think about it, it's such a loss to producers. All because he refused to say sorry," Suresh told PTI.

He reiterated that Haasan should, at least for courtesy's sake, apologise.

"He is a great artist, no doubt. But being such a big man, he could have easily done this small thing. What he said was totally against the Kannada language. We cannot condone that," he added. PTI