'Captain' his colleagues and unit members call him. Quite appropriately, because Vijaykant was recently elected unopposed president of the actors' association. He has his task cut out for him: to bring about some unity among the artistes and to haul the association clear of its colossal debt of over Rs.4 crore. And the actor, who has 23 years in the film industry and 133 films to his credit, has taken his job quite seriously. Despite his busy schedule, the actor took time off to answer some questions:

Quest: You've taken on the presidentship at a critical period.

Vijaykant: Sharat Kumar sent me a letter requesting me to take up the post. In fact, they've all been asking me to take over the leadership since the past two years. But I had been hesitant. They wanted someone who was neutral. After Sharat's request I agreed. Earlier, when Radha Ravi was president, there was this on-going problem between him and Isari Velan. Since they belonged to different political parties, the issue took on a political colour. We all realized we needed unity and to get back the building pledged to a bank. So now we have some old hands and some new blood.

Quest: How did such a huge debt accumulate?

Vijaykant: When Sivaji Ganesan was president, they had taken a bank loan of Rs.20 lakh for construction of the association building. In 26 years, the amount with interest has risen to over Rs.4 crore. I really can't understand how such a huge debt was allowed to accumulate with nobody doing anything.

Quest: How are you planning to repay it?

Vijaykant: I thought of conducting a star-night or some similar programme. But all the artistes met recently and decided we wouldn't appeal to the government or hold a star-night. Each artiste would contribute a percentage of his earnings to the fund. I from my side have already put a sum of Rs.5 lakh in the fund. And in future too, from each of my films I will contribute Rs.1 lakh.

Quest: What other welfare measures are you planning?

Vijaykant: The association already runs a charitable trust and our aim is to replenish it. The association needs a regular income, which can be used for the wedding, education or medical expenses of needy members. Aged, out of work actors will also be looked after.

Quest: How will you find the time?

Vijaykant: I've made some changes in my schedules. While in the city, I plan to shoot only till 6 p.m. and then spend time on association work. Sundays have always been reserved for my fans. But now I plan to spend half the day at the association. And then there is Sharat and Napoleon. We will delegate work so that association work will not suffer in the absence of any one of us.

Quest: How do you plan to tackle video piracy?

Vijaykant: Blaming the foreign market or the producers alone is not right. When a film is released, everyone should be vigilant. On a couple of occasions theatre operators were caught red handed. The State Government, the customs department, are all helping out in this. It would be good if cable operators are not allowed to have their own private channel where they can show pirated prints. We are asking all fans associations too to keep a strict vigil.

Quest: But some artistes too see pirated videos of films in their homes.

Vijaykant: Whenever we have come to know about it, we have rebuked them. We cannot afford to have double standards here. (Napoleon, who was also sitting by, agreed. He said his wife too used to see all his new films on the video. But after he spoke to her about it, she does'nt).

(to be concluded)