Ram Gopal Varma comes out in support of Kamal Haasan amid threats to ban Thug Life in Karnataka, then deletes tweet

Kamal Haasan faced massive backlash for making a comment during a promotional event of Thug Life, where he stated that "Kannada was born out of Tamil."

Updated on: Jun 2, 2025, 15:58:15 IST

By Santanu Das

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Actor Kamal Haasan has been facing backlash after he made a comment regarding Kannada language during the promotion of his upcoming film Thug Life. The actor compared Tamil and Kannada languages, leading to pro-Kannada groups slamming him and even demanding a ban on the film in Karnataka. Now filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has come out in support of Kamal Haasan and slammed the threats against the actor and calls for banning the film as nothing but ‘hooliganism.’ (Also read: Kamal Haasan breaks silence on Kannada-Tamil row, says historians have taught him language: ‘Love will never apologise’)

Ram Gopal Varma shared a note of support for Kamal Haasan.

What Ram Gopal Varma said on Kamal Haasan row

In his latest tweet on X (Formerly Twitter), Ram Gopal Varma said, “DEMOCRACY’s new name is INTOLERANCE..,irrespective of factual correctness , threats to ban #ThugLife in Karnataka unless @ikamalhaasan apologises , amounts to a new kind of HOOLIGANISM.”

After posting, Ram Gopal Varma deleted the tweet.

About the controversy

Meanwhile, Kamal has moved the Karnataka high court seeking the release of Thug Life, which has been stalled by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce over his controversial remarks on the Kannada language.

The actor had reacted to the backlash and said that he did not mean ‘anything’ and it was made with a lot of love. “So lets leave all this very in-depth discussions to historians, archaeologists and language experts. If you look at it from the northern point of view, according to them it is right, if you look at it from Thenkumari (south), then what I say is right. There is a third angle to it-- the scholars, the language experts. This is not an answer, an explanation. Love will never apologise,” he was quoted by PTI.

Thug Life is directed by Mani Ratnam and is set to release worldwide on June 5.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Santanu Das
Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and film festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several film festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent film/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’. A gold medalist from Banaras Hindu University, Santanu completed his postgraduate studies in English from Jadavpur University. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic. When not watching films or speaking to celebrities, Santanu can be found reading a book. Some of his favourite films are Aparajito, Ponyo and The Double Life of Veronique. His favourite books include The Corrections, The God of Small Things and A Room of One's Own. Santanu continues to write passionately about films and celebrity culture. He brings a relatable, as well as critically informed, lens to entertainment and culture for a wide audience. Find him on LinkedIn: santanudasfilm Instagram: @santupechaRead More

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