Shiva Rajkumar apologises for 'Hindi is national language' remark and clarifies after backlash

The Kannada star faced flak after his earlier remark in which he called Hindi a 'national language.' He has now said that he was confused.

Kannada star Shiva Rajkumar stirred controversy after he recently said at a film event for Original Monster that Hindi is his second language and described it as a national language while discussing his pan-India film. Now, he has apologised for the remark after receiving severe backlash online.

Shiva Rajkumar apologises

Actor and producer Shiva Rajkumar during the 'Original Monster' film title launch. (PTI Photo) (PTI08_29_2026_000075A) (PTI)

“I called Hindi the national language. It is one of the languages. Our language [Kannada] is always important to us. I don’t know, I got confused with one of the Indian languages. I apologise, I did not know. Their language is Hindi; ours is Kannada. Their language is important to them. Similarly, our language is important to us,” Shiva said on Wednesday during a media interaction at a promotional event for Original Monster.

What did he say earlier?

The actor was speaking at the title launch of his upcoming film Original Monster when he was asked about delivering Hindi dialogues in the pan-India project, which is being made in Kannada and Hindi. In response, Shiva said, “Why? Hindi is my second language. I can speak Hindi. What did you think? It is an easy language, the national language. How would we not know it? We know it.”

He was last seen in Ram Charan-starrer Peddi. In December 2024, Shiva went to a Miami-based hospital in the US to have his cancerous bladder removed. An artificial bladder was created using his intestine. In January 2025, the actor admitted that even before his diagnosis, he had been fearful, but the unwavering support from his fans, family, and medical team had given him the strength to battle through.

Shiva only spoke about the full extent of his health scare in February 2025 on the Masth Magaa podcast. He also spoke about shooting for his Kannada film 45 while going through it, saying, “I was a little worried because I knew chemotherapy causes hair loss. I was cleared by the doctor but was asked not to overexert myself. I used to finish chemo and go for the shoot; it made me very tired. I don’t want to reveal what it is (I did), but when you see the climax of 45, you’ll be shocked at how I did it. My character demanded gentleness of me instead of anger.”