Jeevitha Rajasekhar: There are no words to describe Vijayakanth's goodness

It has been a long and grief-filled day for the family, friends and fans of veteran actor Vijayakanth who breathed his last today after suffering for a brief amount of time with respiratory illnesses. He passed away after being diagnosed with pneumonia and COVID-19.

Actor Jeevitha Rajasekhar has worked with Vijayakanth in Naane Raja Naane Mandhiri (1985) and Enakku Nane Needipathi (1986), shares that he is not just a great actor, but also a wonderful person. "There are no words to describe his goodness. Since he cannot converse in English well, whenever I come on set, he would tell me not to talk in English as he wouldn't understand," she says.

Explaining that it was painful to watch him sick for all these years, Jeevitha says, "He used to be a very active person. Whenever someone has an issue, he would be the first person to help them." Recalling the fond memories of working with him, she adds, "During the shoot of Naane Raja Naane Mandhiri in Karnataka, which also starred Radhika in a prominent role, there was a tussle going on between Kannadigas and Tamilians. After the shoot was over, some people were teasing Radhika. This made Vijayakanth very furious and he went to beat them. He is very protective. It is very difficult to see a hero like him."

Interestingly, Vijayakanth's hit film Vaanathaipola (2000) was remade in Telugu as Maa Annayya with Jeevitha's husband Rajasekhar in the title role. "Whenever we interact with him, he is very affectionate. I have only seen him doing good things. It is a great loss for the film and the political fraternity. With the crowd that we can see gathering outside his residence and party office, we can understand the kind of legacy that he has left behind. My house help is from Kumbakonam and she has been inconsolably crying since morning," she adds. 

A towering presence in Tamil cinema as well as in politics, he is known for films such as Doorathu Idi Muzhakkam, Satham Oru Iruttuarai, Amman Kovil Kizhakale, Oomai Vizhigal, Captain Prabhakaran, Chinna Gounder, Ramanaa and Engal Anna. The actor was last seen making a cameo appearance in the 2015 film Sagaptham. He is survived by his wife Premalatha who is now the DMDK secretary and his two sons. The party announced that his last rites would be conducted tomorrow at 4.45 pm at the DMDK office.