Indian Actor and Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) founder Vijayakanth, fondly called ‘Captain’, passed away at a private hospital in Chennai on Thursday after a prolonged illness. He was 71.
In the first medical bulletin issued by the MIOT International Hospital early on Thursday, the hospital stated that Vijayakanth tested positive for Covid-19 and is on ventilator support.
In the second bulletin, the hospital confirmed the death of Vijayakanth.
Earlier, Vijayakanth was admitted to a private hospital in November. He was discharged after close to three weeks of hospitalisation.
On December 14, the actor-turned-politician made his first public appearance post-discharge to participate in DMDK’s executive and general council meeting. During the meeting, his wife Premalatha Vijayakanth was announced as the party’s new general secretary.
Vijayakanth who gave moviegoers their dose of adrenalin rush with his powerful action sequences and fiery dialogues was born as Vijayaraj on August 25, 1952, in Madurai. He debuted in the film industry with ‘Iniikum Ilamai’ in 1979. His popular films include Senthoora Poove, Pulan Visaranai, Chatriyan, Captain Prabhakaran, Chinna Gounder, Sethupathi IPS, Honest Raj, Vanathai Pola, and Ramana, among others. Vijayakanth also headed the actors’ body called Nadigar Sangam.
In 2005, he entered politics by floating his political party and won from Virudhachalam constituency in the Tamil Nadu Assembly polls held the next year.
He turned the tables in the 2011 Assembly polls by joining hands with AIADMK. His party secured 29 seats, pushing the DMK to a distant third and became the state’s main Opposition. After experiencing consecutive defeats in the following elections, his party began to lose out on vote share and Vijayakanth’s health also sustained a setback leading him to refrain from attending public gatherings. (Indian Express)