Actor Kamal Haasan’s production house on Tuesday told the Karnataka High Court that it will not seek to release Tamil film Thug Life in Karnataka until it holds a discussion with the state’s Film Chamber of Commerce, The Indian Express reported.

The film is slated to be released on June 5. However, the film chamber has warned that its release will be blocked unless Haasan issued a formal apology for saying on May 24 that Kannada was “born out of Tamil”.

The actor on Tuesday refused to apologise, saying he had “no malice” behind the remarks, Live Law reported.

Raaj Kamal Films International said on Tuesday that it will hold a dialogue with the film chamber on Haasan’s comments. The production house’s lawyer Dhyan Chinappa said that it will not insist on the release of the film till then.

Haasan made the remarks on May 24 at the audio launch for Thug Life in Chennai, after which pro-Kannada organisations held protests demanding that he should apologise for them. In the wake of the protests and demands to block the film, Raajkamal Films International moved the High Court seeking directions to ensure its release.

Justice M Nagaprasanna, who heard the case on Tuesday, said that the actor’s statements had caused “unrest and disharmony” in Karnataka, Live Law reported. The judge verbally urged Hasaan to apologise for his statement.

“You may be Kamal Haasan or anybody, you cannot hurt the sentiments of the masses,” the court said.

“There are three things people are very emotional to, that is Nela, Jala and Bhashe, [land, water and language]...All these three things are important to any citizens,” The Hindu quoted the court as observing orally. “You know division of this country is on linguistic lines. The states are formed on linguistic lines. So you [Haasan] Haasan] know importance of language.”

The judge said the actor could have resolved the issue with a simple apology.

The High Court also recalled that former Governor General of India C Rajagopalachari had apologised for making a similar statement in the 1950s, and asked why Haasan could not do the same.

Haasan’s remarks

At the audio launch in Chennai on May 24, 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.