Siddaramaiah, the former chief minister of Karnataka, responded to a Twitter debate between Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn and Kannada actor Sudeep by declaring that Hindi has never and would never be India’s national language, which was the main point of disagreement in the interaction.
According to the previous chief minister, it is everyone’s obligation to recognise the country’s linguistic diversity. “Each language has its own rich history that its people can be proud of. I am proud to be a Kannadiga.” Siddaramaiah stated.
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When asked why KGF 2 was dubbed a pan-India film, Sudeep started a discussion. He declared that Hindi is no longer a national language and that Bollywood should claim to be producing films for the entire country (by dubbing their films in other languages).
Ajay Devgn responded by questioning why Kannada films are being dubbed in Hindi when Hindi is not the official language of the country. “@KicchaSudeep my brother, according to you if Hindi is not our National Language, then why do you dub your mother tongue movies in Hindi and release them? Hindi was, is and always will be our mother tongue and national language. Jan Gan Man.” Ajay Devgn wrote in a tweet in Hindi.
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Sudeep responded to Ajay Devgn’s Hindi tweet by noting that what he meant was altogether different and presented in an entirely different context.
“Hello, @ajaydevgn sir.. the context to why I said that line is entirely different to the way I guess it has reached you. Probably will emphasise why the statement was made when I see you in person. It wasn’t to hurt, Provoke or to start any debate. Why would I sir? I love and respect every language of our country sir. I would want this topic to rest, as I said the line in a totally different context. Much Luv and wishes to you always. Hoping to see you soon,” Sudeep stated in his tweet.
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The ‘row’ was put to bed as Ajay Devgn remarked that he has always thought of the film industry as one and that something may have been lost in translation. Sudeep added that translations are opinions and that if he had received a tweet from Ajay Devgn for “a creative reason,” he would have been overjoyed.
Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy also shared his thoughts on the controversy on Twitter, claiming there was nothing wrong with Sudeep’s statement. He stated, “Actor @KicchaSudeep saying that Hindi is not a National Language is correct. There is nothing to find fault in his statement. Actor @ajaydevgn is not only hyper in nature but also shows his ludicrous behaviour.”
He went on to say, “Just because a large population speaks Hindi, it doesn’t become a National Language. Less than 9 States, Kashmir-Kanyakumari, have Hindi as 2nd, 3rd language or not even that. This being situation what is the truth in Ajay Devgan’s statement? What do you mean by not to dub?”
He continued by stating that Devgan needs to realise that the Kannada movie is outgrowing Hindi cinema.
“Because of encouragement by Kannadigas Hindi cinema has grown. Devgan shouldn’t forget that his first movie ‘Phool Aur Kaante’ ran for a year in Bengaluru,” he added.
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Karnataka Congress leader DK Shivakumar too weighed in on the debate, and said, “There are 19,500 mother tongues spoken in India. Our love for India feels the same in every language.”
“As a proud Kannadiga and a proud Congressman let me remind everyone that Congress created linguistic states so that no one language dominates another. #UnityInDiversity,” DKS said in a post on Twitter.
