Tamil star actor cum politician Kamal Haasan is busy promoting the release of his June 5, 2025 release Thug Life, across India. An action drama, Thug Life is jointly written by Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam and, and marks the actor-director's reunion 38 years after Nayakan (1987). Thug Life is also jointly produced by Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam in association with Tamil Nadu deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin. 

Stills of Kamal Haasan, Silambarasan TR from Thug Life movie

During the Karnataka leg of Thug Life promotions, Kamal Haasan's remarks that 'Kannada was born out of Tamil' ended up creating a huge language row. Kannada and culture minister Shivaraj Tangadagi wrote to Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) seeking a ban on Thug Life's release. The KFCC summoned Venkatesh, the Karnataka distributor of Thug Life, and ended up deciding that Kamal Haasan must apologize by May 30, 2025 for the film to release in their state.  

"The minister and several pro-Kannada groups demanded a ban on Kamal Haasan's movie. The chamber has decided that the actor must apologise. We are reaching out to him to make him apologise," - M Narasimhalu, KFCC President

Kamal Haasan has now reacted to this Thug Life ban-threat by stating in the press, "It's a democratic country, and I believe in the law and justice, and I believe always that love will triumph. My love for Karnataka is true, my love for Andhra is true, My love for Kerala is true. Nobody will suspect it except those with an agenda. I've been threatened before, and if I am wrong, I would apologize. If I'm not, I won't. It's my lifestyle, please don't tamper with it."

#WATCH | Chennai: "It is a democracy. I believe in the law and justice. My love for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala is true. Nobody will suspect it except for those who have an agenda. I've been threatened earlier too, and if I am wrong, I would apologise, if I'm not, I… pic.twitter.com/ZtNMhPYETq

— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2025

It is worth mentioning here that Tamil is one of the oldest languages of India, besides Sanskrit. While historical proof exists of Tamil giving birth to other South Indian languages like Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu, India as a country has seen a push in the idea that all Southern languages are birthed from what is known as a 'Proto-Dravidian' language.

Proto-Dravidian has especially creeped in common references since 2010s, to dissuade any language-superiority rows. But it is only a hypothesis that stands debatable, against Tamil being the ancestor language of the South.