The Tamil film fraternity paid its tribute to 'Captain' Vijayakanth in a special memorial event organized by the Nadigar Sangam (South Indian Artistes' Association) on Friday evening, January 19. Several leading names in Tamil cinema recollected their memories of the time spent with the late actor-politician, who passed away at 71 on December 28, 2023, in Chennai. Vijayakanth's elder son Vijaya Prabhakaran too addressed the people gathered at Nadigar Sangam's memorial event in an emotional speech, which saw him fighting tears, and also clear the misconceptions surrounding his father's health prior to his demise.
Expressing his gratitude to all the people from the Tamil film fraternity who had gathered at the memorial event organized by the Nadigar Sangam, Vijayakanth's son Vijaya Prabhakaran said, "I would always look more at my father in the mirror than I would check on myself. Kindly do not mistake me if I cry because I become emotional when I talk about him. 'Captain' hasn't gone anywhere and is still with us. I haven't spoken to any media and this is my first meeting with you all since my father passed away. I never took part in any functions organized by the Nadigar Sangam and this is first time I'm participating in one, and it's heartbreaking for me."
Vijaya Prabhakaran further stated, "Like my mother assured everyone not to think that my father isn't here, he's left us for you. There are many youngsters here who want to fulfill their parents' wishes and his sons Vijaya Prabhakaran and Shanmuga Pandian are here to carry out my father's dream for all of you. I state this proudly because everyone follows a resolution every New Year and I too shared mine with my father. I will definitely fulfill all those resolutions this year. I can't speak about them now, but time will let you know."
Addressing the false news about Vijayakanth's health on social media, Vijaya Prabhakaran said, " 'Captain' struggled a lot over the last 10 years, but I don't know whether anyone would have been able to manage themselves like he did. I have stated at every meeting that irrespective of staying inside a cave, a lion will always be a lion. It was his willpower that kept him going till 71. Many people are sharing wrong news on YouTube about his health that he lost his memory during his final days. That's a lie. He remembered everything till his last moments and he knew anyone who came to see him. He could recollect any scene he acted in. Two days before his death, he asked for all his songs to be played on YouTube at home, and watched and enjoyed them. Nobody knew about this, including myself, except our driver. We watched on the CCTV and he was enjoying them on December 25. We admitted him to the hospital on December 26 believing that he would return home, but he didn't. I want to conclude by quoting what 'Captain' said before, 'Vijayakanth lived and will be living in the hearts of the people.' I also want to express my gratitude to the Nadigar Sangam for doing this for 'Captain'. We want to thank everyone who came to pay their respects to him and also say that we have no ill-will towards anyone for not being able to come. We know that all of you are carrying his memories in your hearts."
Watch Vijaya Prabhakaran's speech about 'Captain' Vijayakanth in the video below:
