Captain
Prabakaran was a runaway
hit in Tamil. The
film was based on
the life of the sandalwood
smuggler, Veerappan.
It also gave a new
identity to Vijayakanth,
who went on to do
more popular roles
as the honest and
sincere cop. His current
title as Captain also
originated from this
movie. R.K.
Selvamani
was the director of
this film. His earlier
film of Chembaruthi,
which was a romantic
story and a big hit
also launched the
career of his wife,
Roja. But, it was
Captain Prabakaran
which
gave a big boost to
his image as the director
of slick and investigative
films. Pulan visaranai,
Adhiradippadai and several
other films in this
genre followed and made
Selvamani a much sought
after director. Then
came a period of hibernation
and he has not been
making films of late.
He got busy organizing
the exclusive cine channel,
Thamizhthirai. Now,
the big screen has beckoned
him again and he has
recently launched a
new film to be made
simultaneously in Tamil,
Telugu and Hindi. Meanwhile,
his film based on the
assassination episode
of former Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi has been
stuck with the censor
Board. We do not know
when the film will see
the light of day.
