Chennai, Aug. 6 -- Actor Dhanush urged students to give importance to their mother tongue, saying fluency in Tamil should come before everything else.

Addressing a school event in Chennai on Wednesday, the actor reflected on how language proficiency has changed over the years and expressed concern over the declining use of Tamil among youngsters.

"When I was in school, we were fluent in Tamil and we struggled with English. Now the situation is opposite. Now, out of the 10 people I meet, eight don't know Tamil," Dhanush said.

Emphasising the importance of preserving one's native language, he added, "One should be fluent in their mother tongue before everything else."

The actor also said that not being able to speak Tamil fluently shoul...