Vijaykumar (8 December 1944 – 24 August 1974) better known by his stage name Sasikumar, was an Indian actor and army officer who worked mainly in
Tamil cinema
Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...
.
Early life
Sasikumar was born Vijaykumar on 8 December 1944 to Radhakrishnan and Savithri in
Kumbakonam,
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...
. Radhakrishnan, a follower of
E. V. Ramasamy, worked at the
National College, Tiruchirappalli
The National College, Trichy is an autonomous institution, located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. It has been recognized as the 'College with Potential for Excellence' by the University Grants Commission in 2011.
''Management''
President
P ...
as a
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...
professor. Vijaykumar studied chemistry at the same college, eventually graduating with a
B.Sc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree.
Career
While in his third year at college, Vijaykumar joined the army and became the second lieutenant; he registered under the name "Vetriselvan", previously conferred upon him by E. V. Ramasamy. After completing his college education, he was promoted to lieutenant and went to
Patiala
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the '' Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constru ...
. During the
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...
of 1962, he took over the leadership of the Button Bearing Division and won the President's Medal of Valour for driving out soldiers without using the bearings in the war. He later went to Madras (now
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...
) after being relieved of his military service, married Sasikala and founded a theatre troupe, acting in many of his plays. When filmmaker
A. P. Nagarajan
Akkamappettai Paramasivan Nagarajan (24 February 1928 – 5 April 1977) was an Indian film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film cre ...
saw one of those plays and was impressed with Vijaykumar's performance, he cast him in ''
Thirumalai Thenkumari
''Thirumalai Thenkumari'' () is a 1970 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language Road movie, road film written and directed by A. P. Nagarajan. Inspired by the 1969 film ''If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium'', it features an ensemble cast consist ...
'' (1970), making it Vijaykumar's film debut; Vijaykumar adopted the stage name Sasikumar, partly inspired by his wife. He went on to act in numerous successful films, including
...''Aval!'', ''
Kasethan Kadavulada
''Kasethan Kadavulada'' () is a 1972 Indian Tamil-language caper comedy film written and directed by Chitralaya Gopu. The film stars Muthuraman and Lakshmi, with M. R. R. Vasu, Thengai Srinivasan, Srikanth, Moorthy, Manorama, Rama Prabha a ...
'' (both 1972), ''
Arangetram'', ''
Bharatha Vilas
''Bharatha Vilas'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language film co-written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar. It stars Sivaji Ganesan and K. R. Vijaya. The film features an ensemble cast, with prominent actors from other languages playing guest ...
'', ''
Rajapart Rangadurai
''Rajapart Rangadurai'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language drama film, directed by P. Madhavan. It stars Sivaji Ganesan and Ushanandini. The film was released on 22 December 1973.
Plot
''Rajapart Rangadurai'' narrates the story about a poor ...
'', ''
Suryagandhi
''Suryagandhi'' () is a 1973 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Muktha Srinivasan. It stars Jayalalithaa and Muthuraman, with Savithri, Cho Ramaswamy, Moulee, CID Shakuntala and Manorama in supporting roles. The film was digitised and r ...
'' (all in 1973), and ''
Vellikizhamai Viratham
''Vellikizhamai Viratham'' () is a 1974 Indian Tamil-language devotional film, directed by R. Thyagarajan and produced by Sandow M. M. A. Chinnappa Thevar under Dhandayudhapani Films. The film stars Sivakumar, Jayachitra and Jayasudha, along ...
'' (1974).
Death
Sasikumar was leaving for a
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
public meeting when Sasikala was caught in a fire when she lit cooking gas in the kitchen. When Sasikumar tried to save his wife from the fire, a fire spread on her. Both were taken to Royapettah Hospital. However, both died on 24 August 1974. They had two children at the time, a six-year old daughter and a four-year old son, who were subsequently raised by their grandmother.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasikumar
1944 births
1974 deaths
Actors in Tamil theatre
Deaths from fire
Indian Army officers
Male actors from Tamil Nadu