Kuala Lumpur, Feb 9: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that India and Malaysia are connected by a shared affection for the Tamil, underlining the strong presence of the language in education, media, and cultural life in the country.Malaysia is home to nearly three million people of Indian descent, the second largest in the world, with an overwhelming majority of Tamil origin.
“India and Malaysia are also connected by a shared affection for the Tamil language. In Malaysia, the strong and vibrant presence of Tamil is visible in education, media, and cultural life,” PM Modi said while speaking to the media.
“I am confident that today’s audio-visual agreement will bring our hearts even closer through films and music, especially Tamil cinema,” Modi added.
Earlier in the day, PM Modi pointed out that his Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim is a “big fan” of MGR, just like “several of us in India”, as a song from the Tamil actor’s movie ‘Naalai Namathe’ was presented during a lunch hosted for the Indian leader.
Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR, was a popular Indian actor, director and producer who founded Tamil Nadu’s All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagami (AIADMK) party and went on to become Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister. He died in 1987.
‘Naalai Namadhe’ is one of the actor’s several blockbusters, released in 1975.