Vijayakant: DMDK founder, actor, philanthropist, who briefly altered TN’s bipolar political landscape

Vijayakant, Tamil actor-turned-politician, dies at 71 after testing positive for COVID-19. He was the only actor after MGR to achieve success in politics.

Vijayakant, Tamil actor turned founder of Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK), whose refreshing electoral success briefly altered the bipolar political landscape in Tamil Nadu in the first decade of this millenium, died at a private hospital in Chennai on Thursday. He was 71 and is survived by his wife and party treasurer Premalatha Vijayakant and two sons.

Vijayakant had on Wednesday (December 28, 2023) tested positive for COVID-19 and encountered respiratory problems following which he was rushed to the MIOT Hospital in Chennai and put on ventilator support. His health has been on the decline for years now, and these set backs were reflected in his presence in public events, where he had to be propped up or held up by others, and assisted with basic functions. 

Vijayakant, after MGR, is the only film actor who could achieve a measure of success in politics. Even though M. Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa also had a veritable film career, they had inherited a party left behind by their mentors C.N. Annadurai and M.G. Ramachandran respectively. Unlike his contemporaries Kamal Haasan and Rajinikant, who wavered, Vijyakant took a political plunge once he decided and launched his party Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam and rattled stalwarts M. Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa by emerging as a third force in 2006. His emergence saw Karunanidhi leading a minority government in Tamil Nadu with the support of allies between 2006 and 2011

He burst into the political scene in 2006 polling an impressive 8.38% vote share as an independent player taking on the alliances led by the mighty DMK and AIADMK in the Assembly elections. The vote share increased to over 10% in the 2009 parliamentary elections. Women and youth looking for a change and his fans had constituted his popular support base. However, in just a decade he went politically astray and was reduced to a miserable position heading a party commanding just less than one per cent vote share.

Born Vijayaraj in Madurai, the dark skinned and well-built young man, became popular initially as Vijayakant, a screen name given by M A Kaja, the director of his first film Inikkum llamai, as around the same time there were two other emerging actors with similar sounding names. In the 1980s and 1990s he was among the top five heroes of Kollywood, carving out a unique space for himself in an era dominated by Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. He also boldly took the political plunge while other contemporaries wavered. He came to be affectionately called ‘Captain’ following his stellar portrayal of the title role in the superhit film Captain Prabakaran loosely based on the life of dreaded forest brigand Veerappan.

Left to fend for himself by his rice mill owning father, who was upset over his decision to come to Madras than to take care of the family business in Madurai, Vijayakant lived a hand-to-mouth existence for a few years in the city before he made it big in Kollywood. This eventually inspired the self-professed fan of another philanthropist star-politician M.G. Ramachandran, to make generous donations for noble causes, during calamities and also periodically distribute material aid to the needy.

As one of the top actors, he took the bold decision of politically challenging the DMK and AIADMK and rattled stalwarts M Karunanidhi and Jayalalithaa by emerging as a third force in 2006. His emergence saw Karunanidhi leading a minority government in Tamil Nadu with the support of allies between 2006 and 2011.