Vijayakant

Vijayakant was a Tamil film actor and the founder of the political party Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK). He was named posthumously for the Padma Bhushan in 2024 in the field of art, from Tamil Nadu ^[1].

Actor

He was born on 25 August 1952 and made his film debut in 1979, going on to act in 154 films up to 2015 ^[2]. His breakthrough came with Sattam Oru Iruttarai (1981), which was remade in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada ^[2]. In the 1990s he often played police officers, law-enforcers and village heads in films with patriotic themes, and his 1991 film Captain Prabhakaran gave him the nickname “Captain” ^[2].

He won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for best actor for Senthoora Poove (1988), two Filmfare Awards South and the Kalaimamani award in 2001 ^[2].

Off screen

Vijayakant insisted that everyone on his film sets, cast and crew alike, be served the same food, a practice his citation says changed working conditions in Tamil cinema ^[2]. As president of the South Indian Artistes’ Association, he held cultural shows to clear its debts and used the remaining funds for pensions and benefits for low-paid artists ^[2]. He also gave help after the Kargil war, the 1999 Odisha cyclone, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and floods in Andhra Pradesh ^[2].

He founded the DMDK and was active in Tamil Nadu politics ^[2]. He died on 28 December 2023 ^[2].