Sonu Sood on national language debate: ‘India has one language…’

“I don’t think Hindi can be called just the national language. India has one language, which is entertainment. It doesn’t really matter which industry you belong to. If you entertain people, they will love you, honour you and accept you,” Sonu told indianexpress.com, adding how filmmakers and actors should “respect people’s sensibilities”. “Gone are days when people used to say ‘leave your mind behind’. They won’t leave their mind behind and shell out thousands of rupees on an average film. Only good cinema will be accepted,” Sonu added.

Sonu also commented on KGF 2, RRR and Pushpa’s success. He said that their thunderous performance at the box office will “change the way Hindi films will be made”. His comment has come after Sudeep and Ajay Devgn shared their opinion on a statement passed by Amit Shah during the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee as well as KGF 2 and RRR’s massive success.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has decided that the medium of running the government is the Official Language, and this will definitely increase the importance of Hindi. Now the time has come to make the Official Language an important part of the unity of the country. When citizens of States who speak other languages communicate with each other, it should be in the language of India,” Amit Shah was quoted by the Ministry of Home Affairs as saying.

Later, Sudeep spoke about how “Hindi is no more a national language” at the launch of his upcoming film R: The Dealiest Gangster Ever. The Kannada superstar’s comment came as a reaction to Yash starrer KGF Chapter 2’s success across the country. “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 said.

Addressing Sudeep, Ajay Devgn on Tuesday tweeted that Hindi was and will remain India’s national language.

.@KicchaSudeep मेरे भाई,
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 ।

— Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) April 27, 2022

Hello @ajaydevgn sir.. the context to why i said tat line is entirely different to the way I guess it has reached you. Probably wil emphasis on why the statement was made when I see you in person. It wasn’t to hurt,Provoke or to start any debate. Why would I sir 😁 https://t.co/w1jIugFid6

— Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) April 27, 2022

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

And sir @ajaydevgn ,,
I did understand the txt you sent in hindi. Tats only coz we all have respected,loved and learnt hindi.
No offense sir,,,but was wondering what’d the situation be if my response was typed in kannada.!!
Don’t we too belong to India sir.
🥂

— Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) April 27, 2022

Translation & interpretations are perspectives sir. Tats the reason not reacting wothout knowing the complete matter,,,matters.:)
I don’t blame you @ajaydevgn sir. Perhaps it would have been a happy moment if i had received a tweet from u for a creative reason.
Luv&Regards❤️ https://t.co/lRWfTYfFQi

— Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) April 27, 2022

However, Sudeep clarified in a tweet that the context of his statement was “entirely different” and he didn’t mean to “hurt, provoke or start any debate,” to which Devgn 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.”

Interestingly, Ajay Devgn featured in SS Rajamouli’s RRR. The film, starring Jr NTR and Ram Charan in the lead roles, released in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada.