On December 28, he died at a private hospital in Chennai due to pneumonia.
In this throwback piece, let us recall the time he repaid the debts of the Nadigar Sangam and helped the Tamil film industry.
In 2000, Vijayakanth took over Nadigar Sangam as the president and helped the union recover from debts.
It was legendary actors MGR (MG Ramachandran), Sivaji Ganesan and MR Radha who established Nadigar Sangam in 1952. Initially, MGR purchased a piece of land in Chennai’s T Nagar and made it the headquarters.
In 1977, a huge building was erected, and it had a preview theatre, gym and an office space.
When Vijayakanth took over as the president, Nadigar Sangam was neck-deep in debts. Reportedly, the debt amounted to Rs 4.5 crore. It was Vijayakanth who saved the union with his practical thinking. His tactical thinking is one of the reasons why the film body is functioning right now.
In 2002, he organised fund-raising events in Singapore and Malaysia.
Top actors including Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and several others entertained the fans in the two countries.
The star nights became a huge success and repaid the debts with the funds which were raised from the events.
In 2006, Vijayakanth stepped down from the position and Sarathkumar took over. In a media interaction, Vijayakanth claimed that he had Rs 1 crore balance in the Nadigar Sangam bank account when he stepped down.