Participating in his first-ever agitation since taking over as DMK president, M.K. Stalin turned nostalgic in Salem on Tuesday.
He said he chose to take part in the agitation in Salem as his father and former Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s ties with the city spanned seven decades.
He said Salem was his father’s adopted home as it had launched him into the celluloid space, from where he went on to script political history.
He recalled that Karunanidhi had come to the city at the invitation of T.R. Sundaram, founder of Modern Theatres — well-known in celluloid circles as the Indian movie moghul — way back in 1949. He stayed at a rented house in the Fort area of the city while being employed with Modern Theatres. He wrote the scripts for many films produced by Modern Theatres, and rose to fame as a powerful scriptwriter with social consciousness.
Mr. Stalin picked up the film Manthiri Kumari, produced by Modern Theatres, and said Sundaram was firm that Karunanidhi should write the script for the film.
The DMK chief recalled a character named “ Kollaikkara Parthiban” (robber Parthiban) and said the present-day rulers too were plundering the State.
Secretaries of the DMK district units — R. Rajendran, MLA (central district), S.R. Sivalingam (Salem west) and Veerapandi A. Raja, in-charge of the Salem east district — participated in the agitation.
