Vijayakanth (born 25 August 1952 as Vijayaraj Alagarswami) is an Indian politician who is the current Leader of the Official Opposition of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Born to a Telugu Family. He was formerly a leading film actor in Tamil cinema, active since the 1970s. He is the founder of the Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam and a Member of Legislative Assembly representing the constituency of Rishivandiyam. In films, he is credited with the title "Puratchi Kalaingar" while also commonly referred to as "captain" following the success of his film Captain Prabhakaran (1991).