Ajay Devgn, Kichcha Sudeep engage in debate over Hindi language
What's the story
Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn has raged a storm online.
In a rare reactionary tweet, he replied to a comment made by Kannada superstar Kichcha Sudeep.
What had happened was, at a recent event, Sudeep said, "Hindi is no more a national language," while commenting on the success of KGF: Chapter 2.
Reacting to this, Devgn tried to correct Sudeep but with an incorrect fact.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Sudeep's comment comes a fortnight after Union Home Minister Amit Shah pushed for Hindi to be a common language across the nation during a parliamentary official language committee meeting.
Since then, many celebrities including AR Rahman and Prakash Raj have spoken against the imposition.
This isn't something new either. Since 1949, non-Hindi-speaking states have vehemently protested against Hindi being the national language.
Origin
This is what started the debate
Let's begin at the root of the matter.
During the celebratory event, Sudeep told a reporter: "You said that a pan-Indian film was made in Kannada [referring to KGF: Chapter 2]. I'd like to make a small correction. Hindi is no more a national language."
"They [Bollywood] are doing pan-Indian films today. They're struggling by dubbing in Telugu and Tamil, but it's not happening."
Tweet
This is what Devgn retaliated with
Taking offense to this, Devgn addressed a tweet to the Eega actor on Wednesday.
In Hindi, he wrote, "@KicchaSudeep My brother, if you don't consider Hindi to be the national language, then why do you release films in your mother tongue by dubbing them in Hindi?"
"Hindi was our mother language and national language, and it will remain so. Jan Gan Man."
Twitter Post
Here's Devgn's original tweet in Hindi
.@KicchaSudeep मेरे भाई,
— Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) April 27, 2022
आपके अनुसार अगर हिंदी हमारी राष्ट्रीय भाषा नहीं है तो आप अपनी मातृभाषा की फ़िल्मों को हिंदी में डब करके क्यूँ रिलीज़ करते हैं?
हिंदी हमारी मातृभाषा और राष्ट्रीय भाषा थी, है और हमेशा रहेगी।
जन गण मन ।
Fact-check
Where did 'Rudra' actor go wrong though?
Here the Rudra actor missed accuracy.
Hindi is not the national language in India and never has been.
In fact, our country does not have any national language. Hindi and English are official languages used by the Union government.
Hence, even Sudeep was factually wrong in saying "Hindi was no longer the national language."
Within two hours, the Vikrant Rona star replied to Devgn.
Clapback
'What would the situation be...'
Replying to Devgn's tweet, Sudeep wrote, "the context to why I said that line is entirely different."
Defusing matters, the Dabangg villain said he didn't mean to "hurt, provoke or start any debate."
He said while he understood everything that Devgn had written in Hindi, he had one question.
"[..Was] wondering what would the situation be if my response was typed in Kannada."
Twitter Post
Finally, Devgn resolved matters
Hi @KicchaSudeep, You are a friend. thanks for clearing up the misunderstanding. I’ve always thought of the film industry as one. We respect all languages and we expect everyone to respect our language as well. Perhaps, something was lost in translation 🙏
— Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) April 27, 2022