'Captain' is among many other titles like 'Puratchi Kalaingar' that have gone viral on social media after the demise of actor-politician Vijayakanth. While other names like Karuppu MGR and Sokka Thangam do justice to the actor, nothing comes close to Captain. It was accepted not only by his fans but the masses, who never found a reason to hate him. However, a case was filed against Vijayakanth for using the moniker as it is a title given only to soldiers in Indian armed forces. An ex-serviceman named Dhandapani filed the complaint at the Madras High Court saying that it was illegal to use the title as Vijayakanth has never served in the Indian Army. A Times of India report from 2014, quoted Dhandapani as saying, "He is an actor. To my knowledge, he never served the Indian Army but he has been using the term 'captain' in a fraudulent manner. It is illegal and an insult to the honor and respect of the Indian Army." When did the name Captain become interchangeable with Vijayakanth among the Tamil masses? Tamil actors and politicians have always been given exclusive moniker or sobriquet. Right from Puratchi Thalaivar MG Ramachandran to Thalapathy Vijay, Tamil stars invariably have a title before their name that has been accepted by the fans. Vijayakanth found one with the film Cooliekaran. The title card had the sobriquet 'PuratchiKalaignan'(Revolutionary Artist). However, it was short-lived. In 1991, Captain Prabhakaran, directed by RK Selvamani, was released and ended up a blockbuster hit. The actor played the role of an IFS officer on a hunt to find a smuggler (loosely based on Veerappan) in the forest. The film ended up as a milestone in the actor's career, and the name Captain stuck with the actor forever. Vijayakanth, who always had political aspirations, also held on to it. Aftermath When the case was filed, RK Selvamani defended Vijayakanth saying that there is nothing wrong in calling the star as Captain. Selvamani said that Vijayakanth was called Captain even before he ventured into politics. "He has never called himself that. It was his fans and the general public who called that. So, he cannot be held responsible for it," Selvamani told the daily. The outcome of the case has not been reported anywhere, but it didn't deter the public and his fans from referring to him as 'Captain'-before and after his death.
