KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today congratulated Tamil actor C. Joseph Vijay for becoming the new chief minister of Tamil Nadu following his stunning political debut recently.

Hailing Vijay as his “friend”, Anwar said the 51-year-old actor’s Oru Viral Puratchi — or “one-finger revolution” in Tamil — is currently “on the cusp of creating history”.

The Oru Viral Puratchi refers to Vijay’s 2018 political blockbuster, Sarkar, which depicted Vijay as a prominent business magnate entering politics to take down a corrupt government.

“For many years, his adoring fans watched him defeat corrupt politicians and assorted villains within three hours, usually after a short interval.

“The people of Tamil Nadu have now entrusted Vijay with a responsibility far greater than any role performed on screen,” Anwar said in a Facebook post today.

Anwar also expressed hope to work closely with Vijay, saying that Malaysia and Tamil Nadu share deep historical, cultural and people-to-people ties across generations.

Vijay’s party, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), won 108 seats and emerged as the single largest party in its first election attempt last month.

However, it fell short of the 118-mark required to form the government but managed to secure the support of 120 assemblymen with the help of the Indian National Congress and smaller, left-wing parties.

Vijay was sworn in as the state’s chief minister on Sunday, making him the first movie star to rule the southern Indian state in a decade.