Good day Dato AK Nathan,
My name is Mathanaseelan Thavasimuthu. I was one of the first few in the Q&A session. I asked your opinion about taking bank loans to expand businesses.
Your session was a definite eye opener. You covered a lot of fundamental values which we are very familiar with in our personal lives. Just that we never figured how, as a successful person, we would use each of those values to build ourselves continuously and drive ourselves to succeed. The crowd definitely felt your energy and passion during your delivery.
I just would like to give you a personal opinion of mine, regarding the influence of Tamil cinema on our Malaysian Indian community here. This you may find interesting or you might not agree with. I spent 1 year studying in Hyderabad (2007-2008) and then worked in New Delhi from (2008 - 2009). I just recently returned to Malaysia in April. This opinion is based on my observation of Media in India in the last 2 years.
I feel that Media in India is being controlled by their politicians to make their huge population "malleable". The life there is very different from Malaysia. Here we can still find empty roads. There every street would have people walking around in groups at all times of the day. It is just mind-boggling thinking how many people actually live there, let alone thinking about leading and governing them. So the way the movies are portrayed, those people in the streets are always waiting for someone "special"; a "hero"; to arrive, to save them and to give them ALL the answers. They do not do anything by themselves. It is the hero's job to face and to overcome everything. I was extremely surprised to see this message portrayed across India in movies of ALL languages. It's not only in Tamil.
The people in India are generally unable to access educational opportunities. They learn a lot of new things from what they see in movies. I mean cybercafes in Tamil Nadu became a hit after "Kadhalar Dhinam" movie. As such it is very, very advantageous for India politicians to portray the "common India man" as always being unable to accomplish anything in movies. Only a hero can. He has to have a "special birth", "a rich father", "super intelligence/strength" BEFORE he even thinks of fighting the established rule of the authorities. This way the politicians control the pace of the country development (at a snail pace) and the uneducated people in ALL states don't take any initiatives to improve their own lives.
I feel pretty sad thinking how that implicit message, meant to curb initiatives and self-improvement in India, has creeped into the Malaysian Indian community here through those movies and worse, the drama serials. It was pretty evident during the Q&A feedback yesterday. One guy asked you the silly question if you wore any "charms" to aid you in business (Do you have super powers?); another guy mentioned how you are like Sivaji in Boss (You are their hero, implying you have to CONTINUOUSLY help the whole Malaysian Indian community, while they continue their "tidak apa" attitude and walk out of seminars that can actually help them); the long-winded guy asked you about astrology and fate (Is a "special birth" the only way to be successful?).
While I liked your direct answers to them, I feel it is going to take a lot more because they continuously watch the repeats of those movies on Astro Vaanavil and that stupid message "You and your initiatives are helpless" is reinforced into their sub-conscious. All it takes to undo the Energy and Drive they got from your motivational speech is to watch a few tamil movies.
Realising this mentality of needing a "hero" and then systematically building ourselves to be the Hero we want to see, instead of waiting for someone else would automatically make more Malaysian Indians take responsibility and accountability for their own lives. I would like to know your thoughts on this.
Thank you again, Dato AK Nathan. I changed my perception of successful Malaysian Indians completely yesterday after listening to you. I deeply appreciate your effort for the presentations and your kindness to share your experiences.
-Mathanaseelan-
