Actors Ajay Devgn, Kichcha Sudeep bring 'Hindi as national language' debate under spotlight again

New Delhi: The "national language" debate has once again come back in focus on Wednesday, as Hindi actor Ajay Devgn took to Twitter to react to a comment made by Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep, NDTV reported.

Responding to Sudeep's remark that Hindi is not the national language, Devgn tweeted in Hindi to ask Sudeep why films in his mother tongue were being dubbed in Hindi if it was not a "national language". He insisted that Hindi "was, is, and will always be the national language."

Sudeep was reportedly speaking to the media at the trailer launch of the film "R: The Deadliest Gangster Ever" when he corrected someone on the use of the term "pan-India" regarding the reach of movies.

Referring to the massive success of the film KGF- Chapter 2 which was originally made in the Kannada language, Kichcha said, "You said that a pan India film was made in Kannada. I'd like to make a small correction. Hindi is no more a national language. They (Bollywood) are doing pan-India films today. They are struggling (to find success) by dubbing in Telugu and Tamil, but it's not happening. Today we are making films that are going everywhere."

Reacting to the comment, Ajay Devgn tagged the Kannada actor on Twitter and asked him why he releases Hindi dubbed versions of movies made in his mother tongue.

Mr Sudeep then responded to Mr Devgn's counter, claiming he made the remark in a different context than how it reached him, and that it wasn't to "hurt, provoke or to start any debate". Making amends in the next tweet, the Kannada actor said he "loves and respects" every language of our country and said he hopes to see him soon.

But, after Kiccha Sudeep's clarification, Ajay Devgn admitted that 'perhaps, something was lost in translation. Calling him his 'friend', Ajay added that the film industry is one. Ajay wrote, "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 (sic)."

After the exchange of words between Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn and Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep about Hindi being the national language, former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah weighed in on the debate, saying Hindi will "never be our National Language".

"Hindi was never & will never be our National Language. It is the duty of every Indian to respect the linguistic diversity of our Country. Each language has its own rich history for its people to be proud of. I am proud to be a Kannadiga!! ", Siddaramaiah tweeted.

The debate on Hindi imposition exploded again after Union Home Minister Amit Shah recently said that Hindi, and not local languages, should be accepted as an alternative to English. Opposition parties slammed the remark, calling it an assault on India's pluralism and asserting they will thwart the move to impose "Hindi imperialism".