Updated On: 17 July, 2025 06:21 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Amid rising tension, Renuka Shahane shares her thoughts on Hindi-Marathi language row and the violence that followed it. She believes respecting culture should be given credence rather than knowing of language. She also slams those who resorted to violence

Renuka Shahane on language
Renuka Shahane gained immense popularity for her role in Hum Aapke Hain Koun! She is also known to be a presenter for Doordarshan. The actress never believes in mincing her words and expresses her opinions around ongoing events. She recently shared her thoughts on the ongoing language debate in Maharashtra and condemned violence.
During a podcast with InControversial with Pooja Chaudhri, the actress shared her opinion and stated, “If you’ve been living in a place for a long time, it’s a good thing to understand the local language, culture, and be more respectful than anything else. It’s not about the speaking of it, much more than the intention of wanting to, you know, respect it. I do not like people who do not feel the necessity to be accommodating of the local language and local culture."
“I do not like violence at all, you know; I do not like the fact that people can be rude about it. Going into a place where Marathi is not spoken and just slapping two or three people – it’s not going to help the language in any way. We have to find ways to get across the language to people in a way that people would find it convenient and accept it happily. Language is not something that should be forced. That is why I was against the forced addition of Hindi from a very early stage in Maharashtra. I think it should be something of a choice, which I also had growing up,” Renuka added.