"Overwhelming": Actor Kichcha Sudeep On PM Modi's Language Comment

PM Modi had earlier in the day said that the BJP sees a reflection of Indian culture in every Indian language and considers every Indian language worthy of reverence.

Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep, whose rejoinder last month to his Bollywood peer Ajay Devgn in an online exchange renewed the debate over a push for Hindi supremacy, welcomed remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the subject on Friday.

"I didn't mean to start any riot or any kind of debate. It just so happened without an agenda. It was an opinion I voiced. It was an honour and a privilege to see the certain lines come out of the Prime Minister's mouth," he told NDTV in an interview.

"Everybody who looks upon their language with regard and respect, it's an overwhelming thing to see him speak this way," Kichcha Sudeep said.

"It is a warm welcome towards all languages. I am not just representing only Kannada, I'm talking about... everybody's mother tongue has been respected today with those few statements from the Prime Minister and that is where I was coming from that day. We don't look at Narendra Modi as just a politician, we look at him as a leader as well," he added.