Yesteryear Tamil actor and politician Vijaykanth passed away on Thursday morning in Chennai. He was admitted to Miot Hospital in Chennai a couple of days ago following illness due to COVID-19 and pneumonia. He was aged 71.
Despite best efforts by a team of doctors to bring him back to consciousness, Vijaykanth didn’t respond to treatment and breathed his last today morning. He was kept on a ventilator after he complained of breathlessness due to pneumonia and tested positive for COVID-19 on diagnosis.
Vijaykanth appeared in hundreds of films in a career spanning more than four decades and earned the sobriquet ‘Captain’ for portraying military officer roles in many outings throughout his career.
Vijayakanth ventured into politics by founding the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) in 2005 and made his electoral debut in 2006. The party was established to provide a viable political alternative in Tamil Nadu, challenging the established Dravidian parties like the DMK and AIADMK.
Vijaykanth’s final rites will be performed later this week with state honours.