He Taught Us To Feed The Poor, Says Late Vijayakanth's Son Shanmuga Pandian

Tamil actor and politician Vijayakanth died on December 28 after suffering from pneumonia, at a private hospital in Chennai. The 71-year-old was one of the iconic figures in films and politics in Tamil Nadu. His son, actor Shanmuga Pandian recently gave an interview to a Youtube channel. He said that his father had taught him and his brother, Vijay Prabhakar Alagarswami, a lot of things since childhood. Shanmuga said that his family used to cook Biryani and Puli Sadam (Tamarind rice) in house on Saturdays and Sundays. Shanmuga said that he and his brother used to feed these dishes to the passersby as well. According to Shanmuga, they also used to give those dishes to the people who used to arrive at their home. Shanmuga Pandian reminisced how their father asked them to feed food to the poor and needy.

Vijayakanth had been facing health issues since November; due to which his wife, Premalatha Vijayakanth took charge as the general secretary of DMDK on December 15. Vijayakanth founded the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in 2005 to provide an alternative political platform in Tamil Nadu. His party challenged the established Dravidian parties like the DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and AIADMK (All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam). The DMDK made its electoral debut in the 2006 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections. Initially, it made significant roads into politics, but soon its performance was marred by several factors. One of these factors includes defections of key leaders, which impacted its electoral performance in subsequent elections.

Vijayakanth last acted in the film Sagaptham, in which he made only a special appearance. He was also slated to act in the film Thamizhan Endru Sol. This film, however, was shelved due to Vijayakanth’s health condition. Some of the scenes of the film were shot and they circulated on social media post Vijayakanth’s demise. In this scene, Captain, as Vijayakanth was fondly known by fans, was witnessed delivering a dialogue. As soon as the dialogue finished, the crew at the film set burst into clapping.

Vijayakanth acted in many hit films like Poonthotta Kaavalkkaaran, Amman Koil Kizhakkaalae, and others.