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Three videos about MGR which have become popular worldwide in recent days are the creation of Mr Ooi Keng Tong, a Malaysian Chinese who speaks Tamil fluently.
On Jan 17, MGR's 104th birth anniversary, he spoke about MGR and the late Tamil Nadu leader's ideals in the morning, afternoon and evening at his home in Petaling Jaya.
The 47-year-old's fluent speeches in Tamil, which were captured on videos and posted on Facebook, caught the imagination of many in India and other parts of the world.
"I grew up in a village (Kampong Tun Ismail at Old Klang Road) which had many Indians," Mr Ooi told tabla!. "I played with some of them from a young age and naturally I began to speak like them. I gradually became fluent in the language.
"I became an MGR fan because they used to watch his films all the time on television. I loved his sword, knife and stick fights.
"Later I began to like his songs too and he became an inspiration as he conveyed a powerful message."
Mr Ooi visited MGR's memorial in Chennai in 1995 and 1998. He also visited MGR's residence and took photos with the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's car and statue. He also garlanded the statue.
"I respect MGR, he is a legend," said Mr Ooi, who is married to Malaysian Indian Shiamala Subramaniam, 41. "His teachings are great. Whether it is films or politics, no one can match him. There will never be anyone like him."
Mr Ooi, who has a furniture business and used to visit Singapore at least twice a month before Covid-19 struck, has been part of several big events in Malaysia held to commemorate MGR's life.
"In 2017 a big event was held at Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate MGR's 100th birth anniversary," he said. "I was one of the organisers.
"A gold-plated image of MGR, donated by AVM Productions, the legendary film producers from Chennai, was unveiled at the event."
Mr Ooi reckons that there are at least 800,000 MGR fans, spread across eight states, in Malaysia.
On Jan 20, after his videos became popular, he was interviewed by Singapore radio station Oli 96.8FM.
"They asked me about my fluency in Tamil and love for MGR," he said. "To me, he is a great man. It will be rare to find a man like him in my lifetime."
V.K. SANTOSH KUMAR
