Rajinikanth’s 100th film was Sri Raghavendrar, more a passion project than a commercial blockbuster that the actor is usually well known for.
Kamal Haasan’s 100th film was Raaja Paarvai, which, despite critical acclaim, did not click at the box office.
Vijayakant, however, clocked his century in style. His 100th film, Captain Prabhakaran, released to much fanfare in 1991 and went on to become one of his biggest blockbusters.
Captain Prabhakaran, directed by RK Selvamani, featured the actor as an IFS officer. It also featured Mansoor Ali Khan in the key role of Veerabhadran, a character that was said to be based on forest brigand Veerappan. ‘The Hindu’ review of the film published on April 26, 1991, stated, “Vijayakanth doing his rough stuff with his known felicity, particularly the fights on top of the moving train, the horse riding horde of Veerabadran’s men in ‘Sholay’ fashion trying to stop him.”
Kamal Hassan, Rajinikanth and Vijayakanth during an event in 2004
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RAGU R
Despite having many hits at the BO, Captain Prabhakaran remains closely associated with Vijayakanth, not just due to its script and his performance, but also because of the title ‘Captain’. Subsequently, the actor earned the sobriquet ‘Captain’, something that stuck with him for the rest of his life.
In most cinema and political meetings, he was referred to as ‘Captain’, not only because of the film but also due to his active participation in the affairs of the industry when he served as the chief of the Nadigar Sangam. He was also instrumental in introducing many directors to the industry, and supporting many of today’s leading actors, including Vadivelu and Vijay, among others, during their nascent years.
The moniker ‘captain’ has also been referred to in popular Tamil cinema. In a scene involving late comedian Vivekh and actress Mumtaz in the film Chellamae, the latter refers to Vijayakant as ‘Captain’. But it was not a title sans controversy; in fact, an ex-serviceman reportedly filed a case against the moniker in the Madras High Court in 2014 citing that the title is reserved for Army personnel and not for actors.
But the name stuck. Vijayakant even went on to establish a Tamil TV channel called ‘Captain TV’. So, while his contemporaries Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan were christened adulatory terms like ‘Superstar’ and ‘Ulaga Nayagan’, Vijayakant was, and will always be, known as ‘Captain’.
