KRISHNAGIRI: In a veiled dig at actor-politician Vijay, senior AIADMK leader K P Munusamy on Monday said unlike former chief minister M G Ramachandran, who "meticulously cultivated his onscreen persona" to be a role model to countless people, "modern actors who consume liquor and dance with multiple women onscreen," want to become politicians.

"What such individuals will achieve by entering politics," questioned Munusamy, speaking at an event here marking 109th birth anniversary of the leader fondly referred to as MGR.

Munusamy contrasted MGR's cinematic legacy with that of today's stars, without naming anyone.

Vijay quoted dialogues from MGR's films during his public speeches and indicated that he wanted to craft his image to fit into the legacy of the AIADMK founder.

"Having reached a high position through his own self-efforts in the arts, MGR played characters that provided good advice to the public. There is no history of him acting in roles involving drinking or revelry; rather, he played characters that condemned and reformed those who drank," Munusamy said.

He highlighted MGR's on-screen persona as "an honest, good, and humanistic leader who showed maternal love and treated women as sisters," adding, "the people believed he was a genuine person who acted and earned money specifically for their benefit. MGR gave all the money he earned in Tamil Nadu back to the people, a feat no other actor has matched."

The AIADMK leader also pointed out MGR's final act of generosity: "In his final days, even while suffering from kidney failure, he did not give his residence to his relatives or his brother's children. Instead, he gave the home he lived in to be used for the education of children with hearing and visual impairment," Munusamy added.

To honour his birth anniversary, AIADMK members present at the gathering took a pledge "to bring back MGR's rule".