India and Malaysia connected by ‘shared affection’ for Tamil language, PM Modi says
Malaysia is home to nearly three million people of Indian origin, the second largest population in the world, the overwhelming majority of whom are of Tamil descent.
“India and Malaysia are also bound by a common love for the Tamil language. The strong and vibrant presence of Tamil in Malaysia is seen in education, media and cultural life,” Prime Minister Modi said while speaking to the media. he said.
“I am confident that today’s audiovisual agreement will bring our hearts closer together through films and music, especially Tamil cinema,” Modi said. he added.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi pointed out that his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim is a “huge fan” of MGR, just like “many of us in India”, and a song from the Tamil actor’s film ‘Naalai Namathe’ was presented at a luncheon held for the Indian leader.
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, was a popular Indian actor, director and producer who founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagami (AIADMK) party of Tamil Nadu and later became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He died in 1987.
‘Naalai Namadhe’ is one of the actor’s many blockbuster films released in 1975. “One of the songs sung at the luncheon hosted by my friend Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was Naalai Namathe from a movie starring the great MGR,” PM Modi said on X.
Modi added: “Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, like most of us in India, is a big fan of MGR!”
Addressing a community program on Saturday, Modi also said that the Indian diaspora continues to serve as a strong bridge between India and Malaysia.
He said that inspired by this history, India established the Thiruvalluvar Chair at the University of Malaya and will now establish a Thiruvalluvar center to further strengthen the common heritage.
