Best films of Vijayakanth and where you can watch them – F’day Spl. Article by Naveen

In a career spanning over 35 years, ‘Captain’ Vijayakanth had worked in nearly 150 films. Let us take a look at some of the most popular movies of the actor which are available on various streaming platforms.

‘Vaidehi Kathirunthal’ (Prime Video)

In this film which was released in 1984, Vijayakanth teams up with Revathi to showcase his talent as an actor. Directed by R Sundarrajan, the film with its tragic ending became a huge commercial success. A heartfelt rural drama involving a fight for justice coupled with Ilaiyaraja’s songs helped the film to run for 100 days. It turned out to be a breakthrough film in Vijayakanth’s career and made him the king of B and C films.

‘Oomai Vizhigal’ (Sun NXT)

The next year, Vijayakanth featured in this cult classic based on a series of real life murders in a village in Tamil Nadu. The fact that he donned the role of a grey haired senior cop, DSP Deenadayalan, so early on in his career, shows that the actor was ready to experiment. He excelled in the role of a cop who is committed to solve the murder of young girls and bring the culprits to justice. The song tholvi nilayena ninaithail in PB Sreenivas’s voice is a haunting number.

‘Chatriyan’ (Prime Video)

After Sivaji Ganesan’s Thanga Padakam, Vijayakanth’s cop drama written by no less than Mani Ratnam in 1990 is considered to be a benchmark film in this genre. A gritty drama with Vijayakanth playing the honest, upright cop DCP Paneerselvam pitted opposite a deadly villain Thilakan, the film was a winner. The film had great songs by Ilaiyaraja and it became one of the highest-grossing films of the early 1990s.

‘Sethupathi IPS’ (Amazon Prime)

One of Vijayakanth’s big blockbuster movies in the 90s, this 1994 action film directed by P Vasu, has him cast opposite Meena. In this film, Vijayakanth plays a police officer (yet again), who fights against terrorism. This film is brimming with patriotic fervour and probably set the ground for his entry into politics later.

‘Maanagara Kaaval’ (Prime Video)

In this yet another cop drama, Vijayakanth plays ACP Subhash. This elaborate 1991 political thriller directed by M Thiyagarajan was AVM’s 150th film.

‘Chinna Gounder’ (Prime Video)

In this 1992 film, along with Goundamani, Vijayakanth nails the role as the good- hearted Chinna Gounder, who cannot recognise the evil designs of the people around him. Vijayakanth came to be known to excel in these rural family dramas which had great music. The film was remade in Telugu and Kannada.

‘Captain Prabhakaran’ (Prime Video)

It was Vijayakanth’s 100th film, after which he earned the sobriquet “captain.” He plays a forest officer who goes in search of a forest brigand loosely based on Veerapan to nab him and also avenge the death of his friend. Unlike other Tamil actors who did not face success with their 100th film, Vijayakanth broke that jinx. The title of the film was inspired from LTTE chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

‘Ramanaa’ (Prime Video)

Vijayakanth plays a professor who heads a secretive force made up of his ex-students to eliminate corruption in society.Directed by Murugadoss, this vigilante film showcased Vijayakanth at his best. The film won the state award for best film and it went on to be a commercial success. There’s a climax speech that is guaranteed to give Vijayakanth fans the goosebumps.

‘Vaanathaipola’ (Prime Video)

This is a riveting family drama in which Vijayakanth excelled in. Here, he plays a sacrificing elder brother. The film opened to positive reviews and box-office success in January 2000, and went on to win the National Film Award for best popular film to provide wholesome entertainment the following year. A massive commercial success, it ran for over 250 days in theatres. Vijayakanth proved he could excel in comedy as well. There were multiple remakes of the film.