How Vijayakanth, actor-politician who took on Jayalalitha, came to be called Captain

Vijayakanth, an exceptional actor and politician, breathed his last today, December 28. The actor-politician was famously known as Captain, but do you know how the 71-year-old got this title?

What gave Vijayakanth the title of Captain?

The actor, who made his acting debut in 1979 with the film Innikum Ilamai, featured in over 156 films throughout his career. It was during the release of his 100th film Captain Prabhakaran (1991) that he received the title of Captain. In the film, Vijayakanth played the role of an IFS officer.  Apart from Captain, the actor has also got the title of Puratchi Kaliagnar due to his 1987 film Coolikaaran, however, Vijayakanth dropped the title and established himself as Captain when he entered politics. Main reason to drop the title of Puratchi Kaliagnar was because late actor-politician M Karunanidhi was also known as Kalaignar.  

How Vijayakanth was as a politician?

Apart from making a name for himself as an actor in the Kollywood industry, Vijayakanth along with his political party DMDK also emerged as the best opposition and was known for his unique political strategies. Vijayakanth is a name that will not fade away in Tamil Nadu's politics or the film industry. He will be remembered for mustering the courage to take on former chief ministers and the state's political heavyweights M Karunanidhi and J Jayalalithaa in the political arena on his own terms and also hold his own against them.

It is believed that Vijayakanth, who earned the sobriquet 'Karuppu MGR' ('Black MGR'), would perhaps go down in Tamil Nadu's history as a unique leader who scripted his own success story, dominating the political arena for about 18 years.

What do we know about Vijayakanth's death?

Actor-politician Vijayakanth died on December 28. He was 71 at the time of his passing. He was tested positive for COVID-19 and was also battling pneumonia. He was put on a ventilator and due to complications he passed away.

Stars mourn Vijayakanth's death

Actor Sonu Sood on Thursday paid heartfelt tribute to the legendary Tamil star Vijayakanth, and reminisced about their collaboration in the film ‘Kallazhagar’. He also shared that he owes his career to him. Paying a homage to the ‘Vetri’ actor, Sonu took to the social media and shared a picture of Vijayakanth, along with some stills of their first movie ‘Kallazhagar’. Expressing gratitude to Vijayakanth for being the catalyst in his career, Sonu wrote: "Kallazgar, my first film ever, was a gift from the legend 'Vijayakanth' sir. He came across this still of mine, and in no time, I was filming with him. I owe my career to him. Will miss you so much, sir. RIP CAPTAIN."