Prominent Tamil actor and DMDK Chief Vijayakanth passed away on December 28 at the age of 71. The actor reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and was on ventilator support in a private hospital in Chennai. He is survived by his two sons and his wife Premalatha.
Vijayakanth, who was lovingly called Captain by his fans, has been active in the film industry since the late ‘70s and made his debut in 1979’s Innikum Ilamai, in which he played the antagonist opposite Sudhakar. He would go on to play roles in a few more films until his breakthrough in SA Chandrashekar’s Sattam Oru Iruttarai (1981). The film was a major commercial success and was remade in multiple languages. Vijayakanth followed it up with a string of box-office biggies. His brand of revolutionary films about social issues in the state gave him the moniker ‘Puratchi Kalaignar’.