If Kamal Haasan wishes, ready to meet and discuss why we want apology: KFCC
Bengaluru, Jun 3 (PTI): If actor Kamal Haasan wants, we can meet and discuss why we want him to render an unconditional apology, said Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) on Tuesday, post an emergency executive committee meeting.
In a statement issued by KFCC, which reiterated the demand that the actor, director and producer must apologise, it said that it is willing to meet and discuss this with him as decided in the court.
"Since Kamal Haasan has told the Karnataka high court that he will not be releasing the film as planned, that issue has become irrelevant. But we stand by our demand for an apology from him. Further action will be taken as per the order of the court," read the statement.
Haasan had said 'Kannada was born out of Tamil' at a promotional event in Chennai for his upcoming Tamil film 'Thug Life', sparking a backlash in Karnataka, prompting KFCC to announce that the film would not be screened in the state unless Haasan apologised.
Earlier in the day, M Narasimhalu, President of KFCC, also told PTI that as the matter is in court now, KFCC will do what the court tells them to do.
He had also confirmed that KFCC executive committee members would meet once Karnataka High Court issued an order.
Raaj Kamal Films International, helmed by Haasan and one of the producers of 'Thug Life', had filed a petition at Karnataka High Court seeking "protection" on June 2.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice Nagaprasanna on Tuesday, the counsel for petitioner Raaj Kamal Films International maintained that there was no malice and an apology was not warranted and submitted that the screening of the movie would not be insisted upon in Karnataka till the issue gets resolved through dialogue.
The court posted further hearing of the petition to June 10.
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Karnataka open to making Tulu second additional official language: Minister
Bengaluru (PTI): Minister Shivraj Tangadagi on Wednesday told the Legislative Assembly that the Karnataka government is in favour of declaring Tulu as the state’s second additional official language.
He said the government is studying the measures adopted by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, both of which have additional official languages.
The minister was responding to a question by Puttur Congress MLA Ashok Kumar Rai during Question Hour.
Tulu is predominantly spoken in the coastal districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, and legislators across party lines from these regions, including Speaker U T Khader, have been demanding that the government declare it as the state’s second additional official language.
At present, Kannada is the state’s only official language, while English is also used for official purposes as an additional language.
"I am continuously following it up. We have written to West Bengal and sent a committee of officials to Andhra Pradesh, where Urdu was recently declared the second official language. The committee has gathered information and returned, but is yet to submit its report," Tangadagi said.
He added that once the report is submitted, a meeting involving the Speaker, district in-charge ministers, and legislators from Tulu-speaking districts will be convened with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. "I want to assure you that we are in favour of this," he said.
Earlier, noting that several states have two or three additional official languages, Rai demanded that Tulu be declared an official language at the earliest, stating that it would not impose any financial burden on the government.
"Tulu has a history of 3,000 years, has its own script, and is included in Google Translate. The language is being researched in Germany and France, and universities have allowed examinations in Tulu," Rai said, adding that this was a unanimous demand of 13 legislators from Tulu-speaking Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, with no opposition.
Saying it had been a long-standing demand, Rai added that a Cabinet meeting was likely to be held in Mangaluru in the coming days and urged that a decision be announced there.
BJP MLA Vedavyas Kamath also demanded early action to declare Tulu an official language. He even spoke in Tulu in the House with Speaker U T Khader, who hails from a Tulu-dominant region and speaks the language fluently.
Kamath said a committee headed by educationist Mohan Alva, constituted by the previous BJP government to examine the issue, had studied the matter in detail and compiled all relevant information.
