Kamal Haasan Restrained By Bengaluru Court From Making 'Defamatory' Remarks Against Kannada

A Bengaluru court on Friday (July 4), passed an ex-parte interim injunction order (temporary court order issued without hearing from the opposing party) barring actor Kamal Haasan from making any 'defamatory' remarks against Kannada language. This comes weeks after the Supreme Court said Haasan did not need to apologise for his "Kannada was born out of Tamil" remark.

Kamal Haasan restrained from making remarks against Kannada

As per a report in PTI, the court has barred Kamal Haasan from 'posting, making, writing, publishing any statement or remarks claiming linguistic superiority over Kannada language'. The court has also ordered him to stop making any statements against the Kannada language, literature, land and culture.

The order was passed by an Additional City Civil and Sessions Judge after hearing a suit filed by Kannada Sahitya Parishat (KSP) through its president Mahesh Joshi. It sought an injunction against the Thug Life actor from making any defamatory statements against the Kannada language and culture.

The court also issued summons to Kamal Hassan. The case will be heard on August 30, and the actor has to appear for the next hearing.

What was Kamal Haasan's Kannada language row?

During one of the promotional activities of Thug Life in May, Kamal Haasan, turning to Kannada actor Shivarajkumar, had said, "This is my family in that place. That's why he has come here. That's why I began my speech saying life, relationship and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included."

The remarks sparked huge controversy and outrage among pro-Kannada groups and cultural organisations, demanding to ban his film in Karnataka. They also asked Haasan to issue an apology.

The 70-year-old actor, in his statement, had said that he was misunderstood and that he deeply respects the Kannada language, but refused to apologise claiming he was not wrong.

He told India Today, "If I'm wrong, I'll apologise. If I'm not, I won't. This is my lifestyle, please don't tamper with it," and added, "India is a democratic country, and I believe in law and justice."