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N­­­ew Delhi: Actor-politician Kamal Haasan addressed the media in Chennai on Wednesday (June 4), just a day ahead of the release of his much-anticipated movie, Thug Life. During the press meet, he did not apologise for his remark on the origin of the Kannada language, which sparked massive controversy in Karnataka. The remark ‘Kannada is born out of Tamil’ led to intense backlash and political uproar.

For the unversed, Thug Life is set to release in theatres on June 5, except in Karnataka. The legendary actor has refused to apologise and informed the Karnataka High Court on Monday (June 2) that he will not be releasing his much-anticipated movie in the southern state until he has a discussion with the Karnataka Film Chamber to reach an amicable solution.

What did Kamal Haasan say during press meet?

During the press meet, Kamal Haasan did not apologise but said, “Tamil is my life, it’s my existence”. He further called Thug Life an important film of his career and praised the director Mani Ratnam. He added that he has known Mani Ratnam for a long time and met him when he was a junior artist, and today, he is his director.

He added, “It is an honour to work in a Mani Ratnam movie. The movie’s cast is like our soldiers. Big stars are working in this movie and have come for Mani Ratnam’s name, even though they have 30 years of experience.”

Meanwhile, during the hearing on Monday, the court strongly criticised Kamal Haasan’s controversial remark over the Kannada language and urged him to either apologise or withdraw his statement. However, the veteran actor moved the court seeking security, asserting that there was no malice in his remarks. He also clarified that his statement was made during the promotional event out of love and admiration for the late Kannada actor Rajkumar’s family.

Kamal Haasan’s advocate Dhyan Chinappa argued, “Apology is required only if there is malice, and there is no malice here. “He has expressed nothing but affection and admiration for the language and the state.”

Kamal Haasan refuses to apologise

Earlier, Kamal Haasan refused to apologise and said, “I’ve been threatened before… but love will always triumph. My love for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala is true. Only those with an agenda would suspect otherwise. This is a democracy, and I believe in law and justice. I’ve been threatened earlier too, and if I am wrong, I would apologise, if I’m not, I won’t. What I said was said out of love. And a lot of historians have taught me language history, and I did not mean anything.”