Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (Tamil:; Malayalam: ) (January 17, 1917 – December 24, 1987), popularly known by his initials M. G. R. (Tamil: , was an Indian film actor, producer and politician. Well known as a Tamil activist and he served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987.
M. G. R. was born in Nawalapitiya near Kandy, British Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka), to Kerala Nair parents — Gopala Menon and Maruthur Sat...
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Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (Tamil:; Malayalam: ) (January 17, 1917 – December 24, 1987), popularly known by his initials M. G. R. (Tamil: , was an Indian film actor, producer and politician. Well known as a Tamil activist and he served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987.
M. G. R. was born in Nawalapitiya near Kandy, British Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka), to Kerala Nair parents — Gopala Menon and Maruthur Satyabhama (Nairs are traditionally matrilineal, hence he shares his matrilineal family surname "Maruthur"). His family was originally from Vadavannur, Palakkad, Kerala, but his father had migrated with his family to Ceylon.
MGR was a Hindu and portrayed himself as a devotee of Lord Murugan. He had asked his followers to pray for the success of his AIADMK party.
His followers even prayed for him when it was determined that he had a kidney illness. After his demise, his wife opened up a temple in his name.
After his father's death, he joined a...
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