The national language debate that has been simmering beneath the surface, has now been brought to the fore by Kiccha Sudeep. At a recent promotional event for R: The Deadliest Gangster Ever, the Kannada actor said, “Today, Hindi is no more the national language.”  While B-Town, by and large, remained silent, Ajay Devgn questioned Sudeep’s decision to dub south Indian films in Hindi. The Runway actor-filmmaker wrote, “If, according to you, Hindi is not our national language, then why do you release your films, made in your mother-tongue, by dubbing them in Hindi? Hindi was, is and will always remain our mother-tongue and national language. Jan Gan Man.” Sudeep replied, “The context to why I said that line is entirely different [from] the way I guess it has reached you. Probably I will emphasise on why the statement was made when I meet you in person. It wasn’t to hurt, provoke or to start any debate. Why would I, sir?” In response, Ajay thanked him for “clearing the misunderstanding”. He said, “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.”