Vijayakant was well known for donning cop roles.
One of his most iconic cop roles was in Sethupathi IPS, released in 1994.
Directed by P Vasu, this film is about a police officer who fights terrorism. Featuring Vijayakant and Meena, it is known among Tamil cinema fans as one of his biggest blockbusters of the Nineties.
Vijayakant in a still from ‘Sethupathi IPS’ | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
It also features the actor in his ‘ riskiest scene ever’.
Vijayakant himself admitted to this in an interview hosted in the AVM Productions YouTube channel. He stated, “The idea of that scene was that I was exiting office and some terrorists attack me. About 70 cars had to be part of it. We would be at the shooting spot with 70 cars every day but rain would play spoilsport. Anyone else would have compromised and taken it with just five cars, but the makers were firm that we film it the way we conceptualised it. We filmed it over 18 days. Till date, it isriskiest sequence I have starred in.”
Vijayakant even jumps from atop a car as he bashes up the bad guys sent to get him.
The Hindu review dated January 21, 1994, writes: “The action comes in waves, on the streets — the one near Napier bridge where Vijayakanth indulges in risky fights — and in the well-lit (!) gutters and in the studio made plane, though miniature photography is still new.”
Sethupathi IPS was among the actor’s well-known flicks that cemented his position as an action hero, at a time when Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan were ruling the roost. Vijayakant’s penchant for stunts is well-known among Tamil cinema fans.
Aruna Guhan of AVM Productions recently posted, “He (Vijayakant) has the unique ability to rotate his legs 360° in fight sequences, making him one of the most celebrated action heroes of all time.”
