Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam founder-leader and top yesteryear Tamil action star, Vijayakanth was on Friday laid to rest here with full state honours after tens of thousands of people paid their last respects.
Mourners lined up on both sides of the roads as the decorated truck carrying the mortal remains crawled its way in a procession from Island Grounds near Marina beach to the premises of the DMDK headquarters at Koyambedu. In several places, from roof-tops and flyovers, people showered petals and garlands on the truck.
The truck travelled 10.7 kilometres to get to the burial site on the DMDK office grounds, a trip that took well over three hours. A two-minute silence was observed as a sign of respect after the gun salute.
Attendees included celebrities, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, State Ministers, and Chief Minister M K Stalin. The leaders consoled Vijayakanth’s wife Premalatha and his sons Vijaya Prabhakaran and Shanmuga Pandian.
Before proceeding into the area designated for state honours and the performance of final rites, Stalin took off his shoes and laid a wreath alongside senior DMK leaders like T R Baalu and ministers like K N Nehru, Ma Subramanian, and Udhayanidhi Stalin.
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The Chief Minister touched the wreath in front of the coffin twice as a sign of respect for the late leader. Stalin remarked, “Friend, you will always be a part of our hearts.” Even though there are countless men and women in this world who come and go, only a select few, like Vijayakanth and others of his calibre, remain immortal in the hearts of people, according to Rajinikanth.
After Vijayakanth’s family members performed the last rites, the coffin, made of sandalwood was buried in the designated space amid chants of ‘captain’ and ‘veera vanakkam’ (valourous salute).
The words ‘Puratchi Kalaignar (revolutionary artist) Captain Vijayakanth’ was embossed on the coffin.
While only a limited number of people were allowed inside the space earmarked for burial, countless men who gathered outside shone torches on their mobile phones as a mark of respect.
Notably, several police personnel touched the feet of Vijayakanth and they said it was he who brought honor to the uniformed personnel by essaying the role of an honest police officer in movies. Following Vijayakanth’s death on December 28 morning, thousands of grief-stricken admirers visited his residence, the DMDK office and the Island Grounds to pay their last respects.
Since the crowd became unmanageable, authorities shifted the venue of homage to the government owned sprawling Island Grounds and from December 29 morning, people gathered there to pay homage. Crowds spilled on to the nearby flyovers and alleys as thousands waited to bid adieu to Vijayakanth.
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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman accompanied by BJP Tamil Nadu Chief K Annamalai paid last respects at the Island Grounds.
Film personalities including top stars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan paid homage. Vijayakanth, who had been ill for about five years, passed away after battling against pneumonia.
He had been a successful action hero for about three decades after his initial successes in early 1980’s. He founded the DMDK in 2005. The Greater Chennai Corporation passed a resolution allowing burial of Vijayakanth on the premises of DMDK headquarters. Though the burial was originally scheduled to be held at 4.45 pm, it was delayed as mourners turned up continuously and it was completed at 7.10 pm.
(Source: PTI)
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