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The Supreme Court expressed concerns over the “extra-judicial ban” of Thug Life and said that it cannot allow mobs and vigilantes to take over the streets. It asked Karnataka government to ensure that the film is released.
Bengaluru: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Karnataka government to allow the release of Kamal Haasan's latest film Thug Life, putting an end to days of controversy and speculation surrounding its screening in the state. The film was unofficially banned by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) over the actor's controversial remark about Kannada language during the audio launch of his movie in Chennai. Kamal Haasan had said that Kannada was born out of Tamil.
Hearing a petition filed seeking release of the film, the Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Manmohan said that the state had to ensure the release and screening of any film which has a CBFC certificate. The court expressed concerns over the “extra-judicial ban” and said that it cannot allow mobs and vigilantes to take over the streets.
‘Thug Life must be released’
"Rule of law demands that any film which has a CBFC certificate must be released and the State has to ensure its screening. It can't be that at the fear of burning down the cinemas, that the film can't be shown. People may not watch the film. That is a different matter. We are not passing any order that people must watch the film. But the film must be released," LiveLaw quoted Justice Manmohan as saying.
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The Supreme Court also criticised Karnataka High Court for asking Kamal Haasan to apologise. "It is none of the business of the High Court," Justice Bhuyan was quoted as saying. Kamal Haasan had issued a statement after the controversy, stating that he will not apologise for the comment. Terming India as a "democratic country," the actor stated that he won't "apologise" to anyone for his actions if he is "not wrong".
Siddaramaiah criticised Kamal Haasan
Following the outrage over Kamal Haasan's remarks, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah criticised the Tamil actor and said that he was not aware of the "long-standing" history of the language. Protests were held near the INOX cinema hall in Karnataka's Belagavi against Kamal Haasan. The protests were organised by the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike organisation, which expressed its anger and demanded the actor's apology over the issue.
Later, Kamal Haasan issued a clarification of the controversial comment. “What I said was said out of love, and a lot of historians have taught me language history. I didn’t mean anything by it,” Haasan said in a statement on Monday evening. “Tamil Nadu is a state where a Menon has been our Chief Minister, a Reddy has been our Chief Minister, a Tamil has been our CM, and even a Kannadiga Iyengar has been our CM.”
Haasan added, “Politicians are not qualified to talk about language. They don’t have the qualifications to talk about it, including me. Let us leave such in-depth discussions to historians, archaeologists, and language experts.”
What next?
The Supreme Court has asked Karnataka government to file its counter by Wednesday so that the matter can be heard on Thursday. The State's counsel said that Kamal Haasan has already approached the High Court, the bench said that it can be transferred to the Supreme Court.
