PremiumVijayakanth passes away; Vikram, Khushbu Sundar, R Sarath Kumar, and others mourn the demise of Captain
Vijayakanth, the senior Tamil actor and politician, has passed away. The DMDK founder breathed his last at the age of 71 at a private hospital in Chennai, after a prolonged illness.
Last Updated: 09.47 AM, Dec 28, 2023
Vijayakanth, the senior Tamil actor-politician, is no more. The Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) founder passed away at the age of 71, at a private hospital in Chennai. For the uninitiated, the Captain actor, who was battling various health issues for a long time, was admitted to the hospital recently after he was diagnosed with Corona infection. The veteran actor is survived by his wife Premalatha, and sons Shanmuga Pandian and Vijaya Prabhakaran.
He was hospitalized a few days ago after he suffered lung-related health issues. Vijayakanth’s health deteriorated further, after which he was shifted to the ventilator. However, the celebrated star recovered soon and returned home. After Vijayakanth was discharged from the hospital, he was spotted at a public event of DMDK which was held in Chennai recently.
Chiyaan Vikram, Khushbu Sundar and others mourn the demise of Captain
The renowned celebs of the Tamil film industry, including Chiyaan Vikram, Khushbu Sundar, R Sarath Kumar, and others took to their official social media handles and mourned the demise of Vijayakanth, with emotional posts. "Saddened to hear the passing of one of the most loving and caring beings ever. We will miss you Captain!!" wrote Vikram.
"We have lost a gem. A man with a golden heart. A man who truly deserved a lot more. Our beloved Captain, our Vijaykanth. Sir, hope you are finally at peace. Deepest condolences to his family, fans and devoted party workers. Om Shanthi," reads Khushbu's Twitter post. Sarath Kumar, on the other hand, expressed his deep grief with a long post.
Vijayakanth’s journey in films
The actor-politician was born in Madurai in 1952, as Vijayaraj Alagarswami. However, he later changed his stage name to Vijayakanth, after he started pursuing an acting career. After a long struggle, Vijayakanth made his entry into films with the 1979-released film Inikkum Ilamai. However, it was the 1981-released film Sattam Oru Iruttarai, which was helmed by SA Chandrasekhar, that put him on the map of Tamil cinema.
Later, he played the lead roles in several famous Tamil films of the 1980s, including Nooravathu Naal, Vaidhegi Kaathirunthaal, Amman Kovil Kizhakale, Oomai Vizhigal, Poonthotta Kaavalkaran, Senthoora Poova, and many more. Vijayakanth emerged as one of the most bankable stars of Tamil cinema in the 1990s, with back-to-back successes including Pulan Visarani, Chathriyan, Captain Prabhakar, Chinna Gownder, and others.
Vijayakanth made his directorial debut in 2010 with the action movie Virudhagiri. After the release of the movie which featured the senior actor himself in the lead role, he decided to retire from acting to focus on his political career. However, he later made a brief comeback to films in 2015 with the action drama Sagaptham, which marked the acting debut of his elder son Shanmuga Pandian.