A recent statement by Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM and actor Pawan Kalyan has once again sparked a debate on language. Pawan Kalyan said some things about the Hindi language during the 'Dakshin Samvaad' program held in Hyderabad, which did not go down well with senior actor Prakash Raj.

At this event organized by the Official Language Department under the Home Ministry, Pawan Kalyan said, "Telugu is our mother tongue, but the national language is Hindi. At home we can speak Telugu, but when we cross the state border, we need a common language - and that is Hindi. The world is trying to divide us, but we have to unite through a language like Hindi." Pawan further said, "Hindi is like our elder mother. Learning it is not our weakness, but our strength. All languages like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu are our cultural identity and we should respect them."

However, Prakash Raj got angry at this statement of Pawan Kalyan. He shared Pawan Kalyan's video on Twitter (formerly Twitter) and wrote, "Just asking... At what price have you sold yourself? Shameful." This is not the first time Prakash Raj has objected to Pawan Kalyan's love for Hindi. In May 2025 too, when Pawan Kalyan had questioned the opposition to Hindi by Tamil Nadu leaders, Prakash Raj had responded by saying that Pawan should not impose his Hindi language on us. This is an issue of protecting our culture and self-respect.