Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met Indian movie idol Rajnikanth during his six-day visit to the country. The Malaysian leader and his wife Paduka Seri Rosmah Mansor are big fans of the actor and requested for meeting him before even meeting up with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other delegates to discuss business.
Najib was completely blown away by Rajinikanth's stardom when the Tamil icon was staying in Malacca for the production of Kabali - a gangster-drama film mostly shot in Malaysia. Fortunately, the prime minister was able to squeeze in time to meet and click a picture with his favourite hero.
Najib took to twitter to share pictures he clicked with Rajnikanth at the latter's home. He also wrote that he had "a very warm n friendly meeting" with "the Tamil superstar".
This meeting comes ahead of general elections in Malaysia where the Tamil diaspora has a considerable presence. Najib has also expressed his wish to offer Friday prayers at a mosque in Chennai before leaving for Delhi. Experts believe that the prime minister is probably trying to woo the Muslim Tamils in Malaysia, who have now formed a new party on religious lines, the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress, after breaking away from the MIC.
Razak is also scheduled to address Malaysians living in India. Currently, the prime minister is being accompanied by Dato' Sri S. Subramaniam, Malaysia's health minister, long-time leader of Malaysian Tamils, Dato' Sri Samy Vell. While Subramaniam is also the President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), Vellu is the Prime Minister's special envoy to India and South Asia.
In rest of his itinerary, Razak has a tour to Delhi and Jaipur. In Delhi, he and Modi are expected to talk about India buying MiG-29 planes, which have been decommissioned by the Malaysian Air Force following their purchase of Su-30s. In Jaipur, the prime minister will witness bids initiated by Malaysian companies for seven road projects in Rajasthan.
