Vijayakanth: Tamil Nadu’s own Captain

On the first death anniversary of Vijayakanth – known to his fans and followers as “Captain”, Sigaram looks at his rise in Tamil cinema and Tamil politics against all odds.

Vijayakanth’s real name is Vijayaraj Alagarswami. He was born in Madurai on 25 August 1952. From a young age, he showed a deep interest in cinema and he became an ardent follower of MGR – later emulating his acting and his political attitudes. He would later come to be known, quite unflatteringly, as Karuppu MGR (Black MGR).

With nobody in the film industry to help him, Vijayakanth struggled to get his first film opportunity even after relocating to Chennai. In 1978, director P.Madhavan cast him in a supporting role as Rajinikanth’s younger brother in the film En Kelvikku Enna Badhil but after only 3 days of shooting, he was replaced with Ceylon Manohar. This disappointment would replicated for him many more times in the film industry.

More than a year later, he made his big screen debut in the film Inikkum Illamai where his name was changed to Vijayakanth – a combination of his own name and Rajinikanth. That film and his subsequent films were box-office disasters but the screening of K Vijayan’s Doorathil Idi Muzhukkam at the International Film Festival of India finally brought him recognition and his career then picked up.

Often playing the role in action movies espousing social and socio-political subjects, he was soon cast in SA Chandrasekhar’s Sattam oru Iruttarai, a film that marked a turning point in his career and a notable film in Tamil cinema history. Sattam oru Iruttarai would later be remade into Hindi, marking the Hindi debut of Rajinikanth.

For many years, Vijayakanth had to suffer disappointment, rudeness and even humiliation from many within the film industry. There were many who shunned him because of his looks, his skin colour and his relative inexperience in films. These disappointments would have broken a weaker person but Vijayakanth was determined to succeed and he did that beyond even his own expectations.

He became a hugely successful actor, often using his films to create an MGR-like image. He starred in Tamil cinema’s first 3-D film, Annai Bhoomi. His 100^th film, Captain Prabhakaran, was a massive hit and was subsequently known by his fans and followers as Captain.

In the 1990s, his MGR-like image intensified and, with the help of his friend Ibrahim Rowther, Vijayakanth cemented his image as a fearless man who would fight against societal injustice – a role he fulfilled after his entry into active  politics on 14 September 2005.

Vijayakanth was the recipient of 2 Filmfare awards, 3 Tamil Nadu state awards and received the Kalaimani title in 2001.

From 2015, Vijaykanth’s health issues became more serious and he passed away on 28 December 2023.

He was posthumously awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.