Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep made headlines a few months ago after a discussion he and actor Ajay Devgn had over Hindi as the ‘national language’. Talking about pan-Indian films at an event in April, Sudeep had said that Hindi was ‘no longer a national language’ and Devgn had questioned the comment on Twitter.
Devgn wrote in Hindi, “My brother, if according to you Hindi is not our national language then why do you release your movies in your mother tongue by dubbing them in Hindi? Hindi was, is and always will be our mother tongue and national language. Jan Gan Man.”
Now, in a recent interview with Hindustan Times, Sudeep said that he and Ajay have an amicable relationship now. He also clarified that he doesn’t have a ‘fight against Hindi’ and was simply making a point about pan-Indian films.
“Ajay Devgn is a gentleman. There is nothing there. I am telling you 100% there is a small misinterpretation there. He tweeted to me but he was very sweet enough to retweet back and say ‘I got my answer Sudeep, thanks for clearing it up’,” Sudeep told the publication.
Talking about his statements at the event, the actor clarified, “I don’t have a fight against Hindi. My simple point was that pan-India shouldn’t always mean Hindi. Just because you are making Hindi films does not automatically make it pan-India. Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Punjabi, Tamil films are also becoming pan-India now.”
“This is what I wanted to say. The debate at the time was that it’s our national language. It’s not but we love it still. He may be coming from there but this language belongs to us also. It belongs to us as much as it belongs to you.”Kiccha Sudeep to HT
In response to Devgn’s tweet in Hindi, Sudeep had wondered what the situation would be if he had responded in Kannada. “I am very sure the man I know would never tweet in Hindi. It’s definitely a third person’s idea behind it. I do not want to know or conclude on that,” Sudeep added in the interview.
On the work front, Kiccha Sudeep stars in Vikrant Rona, which also stars Jacqueline Fernandez. The film will release on 28 July in Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, and Telugu.
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