1989, he also starred in two other super hit films such as Paattukku Oru Thalaivan and Ponmana Selvan. This followed the crime Rajanadai and the Hindu devotional film Meenakshi Thiruvilayadal. 1990 to 1999: Action roles Throughout the 1990s, Vijayakanth excelled in versatile roles in a variety of films falling under various genres though he is more popular as an action hero including Pulan Visaranai and had R. Sarathkumar portraying the antagonist. Directed by R. K. Selvamani, this film was considered to be one of the best Tamil crime thrillers of its time. Vijayakanth starred superhit cop flick Sathriyan, produced by Mani Ratnam, about an honest cop and a corrupt politician. After the success of Pulan Visaranai, Rowther decided to start another project with Vijayakanth and director R. K. Selvamani, titled Captain Prabhakaran (1991). It was Vijayakanth's 100th film, after which he earned the sobriquet "Captain" ever since he portrayed an IFS officer. After M.G.R, Sivaji Ganesan and Jayalalithaa, he is the only actor to have tasted a silver jubilee hit in his 100th film. The film was a commercial success upon its release, followed by Maanagara Kaaval (1991) and Moondrezhuthil En Moochirukkum (1991). Vijayakanth worked in films such as Chinna Gounder (1992). This film was radically different from Vijayakanth's earlier portrayals, as he was donning the role of a soft-spoken village chieftain. This film was ranked third in Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film, followed by Bharathan (1992), Thai Mozhi (1992) and Kaviya Thalaivan (1992). He has also appeared in various roles such as Koyil Kaalai (1993), Ezhai Jaathi (1993), Sakkarai Devan (1993), Rajadurai (1993) and Enga Muthalali (1993). He co-starred with the son of the director S. A. Chandrasekhar, Vijay in Sendhoorapandi (1993), where Vijayakanth plays the role of elder brother. Director SAC thought a film with Vijayakanth would give an impetus to Vijay's film career. Vijayakanth played an extended cameo role in this film for which he did not take any remuneration. He turned out to be a hit. In 1994, he appears in Sethupathi IPS, Honest Raj, Pathavi Pramanam, En Aasai Machan and Periya Marudhu. He then acted in Karuppu Nila (1995), Thirumoorthy (1995) and Gandhi Pirantha Mann (1995). For his performance in the action film Thayagam (1996), he won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize. This was followed by Tamizh Selvan and Alexander. In 1997, his film Dharma Chakkaram (1997), was directed