Vijayakanth was a celebrated actor, politician and human being. He was hailed as 'Captain' and 'Puratchi Kalaignar' and was well known for his kind nature, philanthropy and guts. There has been a setback in his health in recent years. He passed away at the age of 71 in Chennai this morning.

Vijayakanth starred in nearly 150 films in his career as an actor spanning over 30 years. He is regarded as a saviour of Tamil cinema who brought so many progressive changes to the industry. Every film worker from a hero to director to lightman and production workers got equal respect in his film sets. Captain saved Tamil cinema's glory by clearing the debts of Nadigar Sangam with his skilled leadership.

Vijayakanth did so many things for the welfare of producers and theatre owners. The whole Tamil film industry is mourning his demise now. Theatre Owners Association head Tirupur Subramaniam announced this morning that morning shows across Tamil Nadu are cancelled due to the death of Puratchi Kalaignar. To respect him, the industry has decided that no Tamil movie shooting will happen tomorrow.