The makers of the Tamil film Thug Life, starring actor and politician Kamal Haasan, have moved the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to ensure the film can be screened in the state amid calls for boycotting it, Live Law reported.

The petition by production house Raajkamal Films International urged the court to stop the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce and others from taking any action that would block or restrict the film’s screening in any language across the state.

The move comes after the film chamber warned that the release of Thug Life would be blocked unless Haasan issued a formal apology for his remark that the Kannada language “was born out of Tamil,” ANI reported.

“We will wait for 24 hours; if he doesn’t apologise, his movie will not be allowed to be released in any of the theatres in Karnataka,” the film chamber’s president M Narasimhalu was quoted as saying by the agency on Monday. “100% without his apology movie cannot be released.”

The petition before the Karnataka High Court argued that the call for a boycott violated the filmmakers right to carry out a profession or business, Live Law reported. It further contended that Haasan’s comment was taken out of context, and that it was in fact made in a spirit of camaraderie between Tamilians and Kannadigas.

The production house urged the High Court to direct state authorities to provide security to the film’s director, producers, cast, crew, theatre owners and audience members to allow screenings without any disruptions, Bar and Bench reported.

Haasan’s remarks

On May 24, at the audio launch for the Tamil film in Chennai, Haasan described his bond with the Tamil language with the words: “Uyire Urave Tamizhe [My life and my family is Tamil].”

He addressed Kannada actor Shivarajkumar, who was at the event, and said: “Actor Shivarajkumar is my family living in another state… Your language was born out of Tamil. So, you are included in that line.”

The actor’s remarks sparked a furore in Karnataka, with pro-Kannada group Karnataka Rakshana Vedike threatening to boycott his film.

Members of the group tore posters of the film Thug Life in Bengaluru to protest the actor-politician’s remarks. Other pro-Kannada organisations also staged protests in Bengaluru, Belagavi, Hubballi and Mysuru, demanding an apology from the actor.

On May 28, Haasan sought to clarify his remarks and said: “I think what I said was said with a lot of love. Historians have taught me the language’s history… I didn’t mean anything.”

The film, directed by Mani Ratnam, is scheduled to be released on June 5. Among its producers is Red Giant Movies, a company owned by Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Udhayanidhi Stalin. The film has been dubbed in several languages, including Kannada.