Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra addressed the ongoing language row in Maharashtra while promoting her upcoming film KD: The Devil in Mumbai on Thursday (July 10). Responding to a reporter's question about the pressure surrounding language use, Shilpa initially deflected the query, however, she later called herself a 'Maharashtrachi mulgi' (Maharashtra's daughter).
While Shilpa hails from Mangalore, Karnataka, she married businessman Raj Kundra, who is a Punjabi.
During the event, a reporter asked Shilpa her views about Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers threatening and assaulting people and forcing them to speak in Marathi.
Reacting to the question, the actress joked, "Iske baare mein Sanjay Dutt bolenge (Sanjay will talk about this)," referring to her co-star who was also present at the event.
In a video shared by Aaj Tak, she is heard adding later, "Mala Marathi maahit aahe. Me Maharashtrachi mulgi aahe (I know Marathi. I am a daughter of Maharashtra). But today, we are here to talk about KD. If you're trying to stir controversy beyond the film, we won't encourage that." Shilpa's videos have gone viral on social media platforms.
The actress also opened up about the inclusive nature of their upcoming film. She said, "Our movie is multilingual. Isko hum Marathi mein bhi dub kar sakte hai," earning applause from both the audience and the film's team.
Marathi language row
For those unversed, Maharashtra has been in the spotlight for multiple incidents of targeted violence where the MNS goons went on a violent spree, singling out Hindi-speaking migrants and thrashing them in public.
About Shilpa's film KD
The film marks Shilpa's return to Kannada cinema after 20 years. The film also stars Dhruva Sarja and V Ravichandran. It is reportedly based on the events that took place in Bengaluru in the 1970s.
