Haasan's 'Tamil gave birth to Kannada' remark sparks row

A speech by actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Kannada during the audio launch of his upcoming film 'Thug Life' in Chennai on Saturday has triggered a linguistic row, with Karnataka political leaders, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, slamming the actor and seeking his apology, and a few TN parties rallying in his support.

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Chennai/Bengaluru

At the audio launch, Kamal, while addressing Kannada star Shivarajkumar who was present at the event, said, "Your language (Kannada) was born out of Tamil." He added, "That's why I began my speech with 'Uyire Urave Tamizhe' (my life, my relation, my Tamil) and I include you in that," Kamal said. While Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah told reporters on Wednesday that "Kannada language has a very long history, he (Kamal Haasan) doesn't know", the state's BJP unit has demanded an apology.