Kiccha Sudeep shows journalist on how to correctly pronounce Kannada, asks her: ‘Hum kabhi bhi Hind bole hai?’

Actor Kiccha Sudeep schooled a journalist on how to correctly pronounce the word Kannada. In a video shared on Twitter, Sudeep corrected the journalist saying that the correct word is Kannada and not ‘Kannad’. He also asked her if she has ever pronounced Hindi as Hind. In the clip, Sudeep said, “Jaise Hindi, Hind nahi hota, waise Kannada, Kannad nahi hota hai. (Like Hindi, cannot be Hind. Kannada also can’t be become Kannad).” (Also Read | Kiccha Sudeep responds to Ajay Devgn’s tweet on his Hindi comment)

After the woman told her that she is learning, he replied, “Aap seekho na, language choro, language ka naam toh sahi rakkho na. Aap Tamil sahi bolte ho, Telugu sahi bolte ho, jab Kannada ki baat aati hai toh Kannad boldete ho aap (Forget the language, at least know the right name of the language. You pronounce the names of Tamil and Telugu correctly but when it comes to Kannada, you say Kannad).”

He continued, “Kannad nahi hai, Kannada hai. Hum kabhi bhi Hind bole hai? Nahi na? Hindi hi bolte hai na? Shudhh Hindi mein bolte hai na Hindi. Kannada language seekhna choro aap woh ek alag kahani hai, aap try karo lekin Kannada, hann (It’s not Kannad, it’s Kannada. Did we ever say Hind? No, right? We say Hindi? We pronounce it correctly, right? Forget learning the Kannada language that’s a different story, you can try but it’s Kannada).”

This comes a few months after Sudeep had said at an event, “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.” He was speaking in the context of films such as RRR and KGF Chapter 2.

His comment gave rise to an online tussle with actor Ajay Devgn who said, “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.”

Reacting to the comment, Sudeep said that his remark ‘wasn’t to hurt, provoke or to start any debate’. A part of his tweet also read, “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.” Ajay replied, “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.”