"We should be proud of our history, let's celebrate it," said actor Vikram during the promotion of his upcoming magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan. His fierce speech explaining the great achievements of the Chola empire is trending on social media platforms.

He started his speech with a comparison between Leaning Tower Of Pisa and the Thanjavur temple. "Someone once said that we are appreciating a building that doesn't stand straight, but we have temples today that stand and they didn't use plaster," he said amid cheers and claps.

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Vikram in Ponniyin Selvan
Vikram in Ponniyin Selvan

He further added, "A six kilometres long ramp had to be built to bring a stone weighing several tonnes to place over the tower, it was pulled by elephants, bulls and people, without the use of any cranes or plaster. The temple withstood six earthquakes."

Vikram also heaped praises on Raja Raja Chola, who built 5,000 dams, had a water ministry, gave loans to people, ran free hospitals, held panchayat elections and kept women's names for cities.

"When the Chola's marine power reached Bali and Malaysia, do you know what the rest of the world was doing? America was not even discovered by Colombus, until 500 years later. Think about our culture. We need to be proud of it. There's nothing called North India or South India. We are Indians and we need to feel proud about that," the actor added.

"England was being invaded by Vikings and Europe was in the dark ages. So, don't you think we should celebrate our history?" he concluded.

Ponniyin Selvan is all set to hit the screens on September 30.

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