Arjun Rampal says 'Hindi has been our national language, we should respect that' | Exclusive

In an exclusive interview with IndiaToday.in, Arjun Rampal shared his opinion on the language debate sparked by Kiccha Sudeep. The actor mentioned that Hindi has been our national language and we must respect that.

The language debate, which was sparked by Kannada actor Kiccha Sudeep, refuses to die down. After Ajay Devgn lashed out at Kiccha, many celebrities came forward and put forth their opinion. For the unversed, Kiccha Sudeep mentioned in an interview that Hindi is no longer our national language. Reacting to this language debate, Arjun Rampal exclusively told IndiaToday.in that Hindi has been our national language and we must respect that.

Speaking with IndiaToday.in, Arjun Rampal lauded India's diversity and its rich culture. The actor said, "India is a very diverse, secular and colourful country with so many different languages, cultures, festivals and religions. We all live here together peacefully and happily. I think language is nothing. What's most important for me is the emotion. I think Hindi has been our national language and we should respect that. And it is spoken the most and understood the most in this diverse country to communicate."

Though Arjun believes that Hindi has been our national language, the actor feels we must celebrate all languages and cultures. "But that is not taking away from any other language. Since we live in such a diverse nation, it would be great to imbibe everybody's different cultures. Learn a little bit of Tamil, learn a little bit of Telugu. I have been to Tamil Nadu to study, so I picked up quite a bit of Tamil when I was there. And when you go to Punjab and live there for a few months, I have been shooting there, so you pick up a lot of Punjabi. Or if you go to Gujarat, you pick up Gujarati. I live in Maharashtra, so I know Marathi. It's amazing and there's enjoyment in all these languages. We should celebrate them."

Before signing off, Arjun Rampal mentioned that India's uniqueness lies in its diversity. "And its diversity is what makes India unique and different from everywhere else in the world. So, we should celebrate that. We shouldn't point fingers and fight. I think we should just imbibe everybody's cultures and diversity and enjoy it. And we should feel rich to have all of that in our country," he said, on a concluding note.

On the work front, Arjun will next be seen in Dhaakad.