Tag: Bollywood

  • Anwar Ibrahim: From Bollywood to the “Boxing Ring”

    Anwar Ibrahim: From Bollywood to the “Boxing Ring”

    Comedy & Music · Discover Malaysia

    This is the English version · About 2½ minutes. Scroll down for the Malay, Mandarin and Tamil versions.

    A song, a dance and a mock showdown. This FindingOut compilation brings together three lighter moments from Anwar Ibrahim’s public life, with a little background on the music and the people behind them.

    The clips come from different events and different years, offering a glimpse of the humour and cultural connections that can surface between the speeches and political headlines.

    3. A Bollywood moment in New Delhi

    Illustration of Anwar Ibrahim singing beside a piano, introducing a Bollywood moment.
    Editorial illustration inspired by the featured moment.

    At a BRICS gala dinner in New Delhi in September 2026, Anwar sang “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat”. Its title means roughly “Are you a dream, or are you real?”

    The romantic song comes from Teen Devian (1965). Kishore Kumar sang the original recording, with music by S. D. Burman and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. Here, a familiar film melody becomes a shared cultural moment during an official visit.

    Performance background · Recording credits

    2. A little MGR magic

    Illustration of Anwar Ibrahim dancing with a stage performer impersonating MGR.
    Editorial illustration inspired by the featured moment.

    The next clip takes us to Desa Mentari during the Seri Setia by-election campaign in September 2018. Anwar joins a performer impersonating M. G. Ramachandran, better known as MGR, the celebrated Tamil cinema star.

    The song is “Naan Aanaiyittal”, roughly “If I give the order”, from Enga Veettu Pillai (1965). T. M. Soundararajan provided the original singing voice, Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy composed the music, and Vaali wrote the lyrics. Anwar joins the performer’s MGR-inspired moves as the audience responds.

    Event background · Original song and credits

    1. The “boxing match” that never was

    Editorial illustration of Mahathir and Anwar sharing a joking press-conference exchange; no actual boxing match.
    Editorial illustration inspired by the featured moment.

    The countdown ends at a press conference in Putrajaya on 7 October 2019. After reporters questioned Dr Mahathir Mohamad and then turned to Anwar, Mahathir jokingly suggested that the media wanted the two men to fight.

    He raised his fists and made playful mock punches, prompting laughter. There was no boxing contest: the humour came from turning a political question into a brief comic exchange.

    FMT’s original report

    Which moment made you smile?

    From a Hindi film classic to Tamil cinema nostalgia and political humour, these clips offer three different ways into Malaysia’s public life. Watch the compilation and choose your favourite.

    Watch in your preferred language

    Enjoy the same compilation with Malay, Mandarin or Tamil narration.

    Malay / Bahasa Malaysia

    Open the Malay version on YouTube

    Mandarin / 华语

    Open the Mandarin version on YouTube

    Tamil / தமிழ்

    Open the Tamil version on YouTube

    This compilation combines events from different years. The graphic cards are AI-assisted editorial illustrations, not documentary photographs; the “boxing” exchange was a joke. Original footage is credited to Anwar Ibrahim / Hindustan Times, KiniTV and Free Malaysia Today. Original songs and recordings belong to their respective rights holders.

    Watch next

    Enjoy looking a little deeper? Subscribe to FindingOut Malaysia on YouTube for new videos.