‘He was in love with Aparna Sen, learned Bengali to impress her and…’ – Firstpost

In her recent interaction with Sathyaraj, actress Shruti Haasan revealed something unknown about her father and veteran star Kamal Haasan. The actress said, “Do you know why he learnt Bengali? Because at that time, he was in love with Aparna Sen. He learnt Bengali to impress her, he did not learn it for films.”

Shruti added, “Even in Hey Ram, Rani Mukerji is named Aparna after her.”

Language is a pretty sensitive topic in India and actor Kamal Haasan learnt that on Tuesday (May 27) when he created a firestorm by mentioning that Kannada “was born out of Tamil” during a public event in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The remark has triggered sharp political reactions and public outrage in Karnataka, with pro-Kannada groups condemning his statement and demanding an unconditional apology.

But amid the criticism and firestorm that Haasan’s remark evoked, what is the truth? Is the actor right in his claim that Kannada was indeed born out of Tamil? Here’s what we found out.

Haasan’s controversial remark

At an event to promote his upcoming movie, 
_Thug Life_, the veteran actor took to the stage and said, “Uyire Urave Tamizhe”, meaning “my life and my family is Tamil language.”

He then pivoted to Shivarajkumar, a Kannada actor, who was also present at the event and said, “This is my family in that place. That’s why he (Shivarajkumar) has come here. That’s why I began my speech saying life, relationship and Tamil. Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil, so you too are included (part of it).”

Many believe that Haasan made the remark with the intention of promoting cultural unity. However, it did the exact opposite, evoking strong reactions and condemnation.

Anger and ire at Haasan over Kannada remarks

But Haasan’s remarks quickly invited him sharp criticism from pro-Kannada groups. Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra condemned the actor’s remarks as “uncultured” and “insulting” to Kannada and its 6.5 crore speakers.

“It is the height of arrogance that Kamal Haasan, who has acted in many Indian languages including Kannada, has insulted Kannada in the name of glorifying Tamil,” Vijayendra wrote on X. He also questioned Haasan’s authority to speak on the linguistic origins of Kannada, saying, “He [Kamal Haasan] is not a historian.”