Bowing down to pressure, Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday apologised for her remark about speaking in Hindi, which had invited the wrath of both the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.
"I am very sorry if I have hurt the sentiments of Marathi speaking people in Mumbai and Maharashtra," Jaya said in an interview to Mumbai Mirror.
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"My remark about choosing to speak in Hindi at the music launch of a Hindi film was said innocently. Why would I go out of my way to malign the city that has given us everything? Don't we belong to this city too? I will not show disrespect to this city till the day of my death," she added.
During the music launch of Drona, Jaya had said that she would speak in Hindi as she is from Uttar Pradesh. The Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray-led MNS slammed the comment and said it was an 'insult' to Maharashtrian people.
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Raj Thackeray had even threatened to disrupt the screening of all Bachchans' films in the state.
Supporters of Raj Thackeray took to the streets on Monday to blacken or tear the posters of Amitabh Bachchan's latest film 'The Last Lear', scheduled to be released on September 12.
"I never thought my innocent remarks would create such a negative impact. I am comfortable in Hindi. That's the language I think in. And that's the language I prefer to speak in. But for the information of those who think I meant offence against the Marathi language, let me also say I speak Marathi and I speak it quite well. If I have inadvertently hurt anyone's sentiments, I regret the hurt caused," Bachchan told the Mumbai-based tabloid.