Chennai: Tamil actor, former opposition leader and DMDK founder leader Vijayakanth passed away. He was 71 years old. He was being treated at a private hospital in Chennai today as his health condition became critical due to the covid infection. The hospital authorities confirmed Vijayakanth’s death on Thursday morning. The actor who gave many superhits in Tamil had been suffering from ailments for some time. He was a member of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly twice. Wife Premalatha, children Shanmukha Pandian and Vijayaprabhakaran.
Vijayakanth’s real name was Vijayaraj Alagarswamy. Born on August 25, 1952 in Madurai to KN Alagar Swamy and Andal, Vijayakanth became the pulse of Tamil soil through Tamil cinema and later through politics. In 1979, Vijayakanth made his debut as a counter-hero in the film Inikku Ilamai. In 1981, he became the hero in the film Sattam Oru Utharai. Later, he entered the hearts of the Tamil people with his roles in films like Sivappu Malli and Jathikkuru Neethi. It is only after that that the epithet Puratchi Kalainjar comes. Vijayakanth released 18 films in 1984 alone. He last acted in 2010’s Virudagiri. It was directed by Vijayakanth himself. Later in 2015, he appeared in a cameo role in the film Satabdam, starring his son Shanmukha Pandian.
With the release of his 100th film Captain Prabhakaran, the title Captain became his own. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Actor in 1986, the Tamil Nadu Government’s Kalaimamani Award in 2001 and another government award in 2002.
