Kamal Haasan starrer 'Thug life' will not be released in Karnataka on June 5, the scheduled date for the pan-India release of the much-anticipated movie, its producers informed the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday.

When the matter came up for hearing before Justice Nagaprasanna, counsel for the petitioner maintained that there was no malice and an apology was not warranted and submitted that the screening of the movie would not be insisted upon in Karnataka till the issue gets resolved through dialogue.

The court posted to June 10 further hearing of the petition by the production house, Raaj Kamal Films International, seeking adequate security for the movie's release in the state.

During the hearing, filmmaker Haasan came in for strong criticism from the court for his remark suggesting that "Kannada was born out of Tamil," and the court observed that a "single apology could have resolved the situation." The petition was filed following widespread protest against the actor's recent remarks regarding Kannada language and a demand for his apology.

Hearing the petition, Justice Nagaprasanna asked, "Are you a historian or a linguist to make such a statement? No language is born out of another. A single apology could have resolved the situation." Further, the judge said no citizen has the right to hurt sentiments and underlined that an apology "even a symbolic one," was missing. To this, the counsel for petitioner submitted that "an apology is needed when there is malice, not for a misunderstanding." Justice M Nagaprasanna said that the actor's recent statement has stirred the hornet's nest and triggered 'certain unrest in the state of Karnataka,' and held that it undermined the Karnataka people's sentiment of language.

"There are many ways of clarifying, but only one way of seeking apology," the court noted, as it recorded that the letter addressed by Haasan to the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) did not include an explicit apology.

"Freedom of expression cannot be extended to the extent of hurting someone's sentiment, of a mass in particular," the Judge said. He also observed that languages may be many, but the country is still one and there can be no division there. The remarks, reportedly made by Haasan at a promotional event in Chennai for his upcoming Tamil film 'Thug Life', sparked a backlash in Karnataka, prompting the KFCC to announce that the film would not be screened in the state unless Haasan apologised.

In response, Raajkamal Films International the production company of Haasan filed a plea before the High Court seeking protection for the film's release.

The senior counsel submitted that the petitioner is not, for now, willing to screen the movie in Karnataka, unless a dialogue or a trialogue with the KFCC was encouraged. Further, the counsel submitted that the matter may be adjourned to enable them to have a dialogue.

Senior Advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, appearing for Haasan, read out the letter the actor sent to KFCC, which said, his recent statement in connection with the evolution of Kannada language was misunderstood and that his words were taken out of context. The actor also has asserted that his love for Kannada language is genuine.

"He has sincere love for Kannada and meant no offence," Chinnappa said and added that the 'communication' was issued immediately after Haasan returned from a promotional event in Dubai. The Judge said, "but the word apology is not found in the communication...." "....on all these factors, and also in the light of the fact that of the statement of the senior counsel on instructions that the screening of the movie would not be insisted upon in the state of Karnataka till the issue gets resolved till the dialogue/trialogue would yield any results." The court underlined that an apology "even a symbolic one," was missing. "Only one sentence was to be added. It is not compulsion, that is the grace he (Haasan) should have," said Justice Nagaprasanna.

Chinnappa maintained that the statement was not issued with malice and thus did not warrant an apology. "It is not ego at all," he argued. "An apology is needed when there is malice, not for a misunderstanding." The judge said that the actor's statement had hurt the sentiments of the people of Karnataka and questioned his refusal to offer an apology. "Language is an emotional and cultural identity of a people," and stressed that no individual has the right to make comments that undermine the pride of an entire linguistic community, the court observed. "Water, land, and language ' Jala, Nela, Bashe ' are crucial to citizens. The division of this country itself was based on linguistic lines," the court observed.

Late leader C Rajagopalachari made a similar statement but apologised for it, the court said. "....If Rajagopalachari could tender a public apology 75 years ago, why can't you (Kamal Haasan)? For your commercial interest, you have approached this court seeking police protection for a situation created by you," the judge said.

Advocate Chinnappa, told the court that the remark was not "drastically wrong". During the argument when Chinnappa said, eggs and words must be handled with care, the Judge added, "you cannot unscramble the scrambled egg."

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