Prakash Raj calls OG co-star Pawan Kalyan asking Telugu people to speak Hindi 'shameful': Selling yourself for this?

Pawan Kalyan emphasized the importance of learning Hindi at the Dakshin Samvad event, urging southern states to embrace the language for better communication.

Actor Prakash Raj is not happy after hearing actor-politician Pawan Kalyan's take on the ‘Hindi-language row’. At a recent event, Pawan, who is Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister, reiterated the importance of learning Hindi for people from southern states, something Prakash found ‘shameful’.

Prakash Raj does not agree with Pawan Kalyan's take on language row.

Clash of opinions between Prakash and Pawan

Prakash retweeted a video of Pawan from the event and wrote, “ఈ range కి అమ్ముకోవడమా ….ఛి…ఛీ… #justasking (Selling (yourself/this) for this amount? Ugh… how shameful!)”

In the video, Pawan said, "Telugu might be our mother tongue but our national language is Hindi. We have Telugu as means to communicate at home but when we cross that boundary, we have Hindi. The world is looking for ways to split apart but today, we as a country are looking for ways to unite in Hindi. I welcome a language like that. Be it the Dravidian languages, be it Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, or any other language in our country, we have to respect our mother tongue. If that's our mother tongue, Hindi is like our pedamma (mother's elder sister). For any kind of progress in education, business or work, we need to cross all language barriers. At a time like this we stall progress is we oppose Hindi. To learn Hindi is not to lose ourselves but to strengthen ourselves."

Pawan Kalyan's fans did not take Prakash's response to well and theatened him in replies. One wrote, "Hey you scoundrel, if we see you, we’ll beat you with slippers. We’ll thrash you hard — watch out!"

“No, @PawanKalyan, did you really beat him up during the OG shoot? He’s crying at this level now,” wrote another. Pawan and Prakash will be seen together in upcoming action movie OG.

Another asked Prakash about his own work in other languages. "If people really hated other languages the way you claim, would you have done so many films? Would you have earned this much? Would you have gained such a big name on the national level? Would you have lived such a life, Prakash Raj anna?"

What was the event?

The event that Pawan spoke at was Dakshin Samvad in Hyderabad. It was organised by Department of Official Language under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Pawan Kalyan appealed for the use of Hindi on social media platforms. "If we can learn foreign languages, why hesitate with Hindi? Hindi is easily understood across the country. I personally use Hindi on social media. On this Golden Jubilee of the Department, let us resolve to love Hindi, adopt it, and promote it," said Kalyan.

Recalling former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, he said, "Language should connect hearts. Let us view Hindi from this perspective."