Where does Kamal Haasan stand on the issue of imposition of Hindi in the south? “I stand with Punjab. I stand with Karnataka. I stand with Andhra,” is his quick reply.
The pan-India superstar’s latest film Thug Life, the 234th in a 65-year career, released in theatres this week amid controversy over his comment that Kannada was born out of Tamil. He refused to apologise and the film did not release in Karnataka.
“I am the actor from ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’…,” Haasan told PTI during a recent visit to the news agency’s headquarters, referring to his 1981 hit Hindi film about a Tamil boy and his romance with his Hindi speaking neighbour.
“Without imposition, we will learn. Don’t impose, because this is ultimately education and we must take the shortest route to education and not put hurdles in its way,” the actor said.
The ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in his home state Tamil Nadu has long opposed the three-language policy introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP).
The party has repeatedly accused the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government of attempting to ‘impose Hindi’, a charge the Centre has denied.
Stressing that the imposition of a particular language only hampers the learning process, the 70-year-old said, “I stand with Punjab. I stand with Karnataka. I stand with Andhra. This is not only place which is resenting imposition.”
