Prakash Raj: From Iconic Villain to Versatile Veteran – A Career Retrospective

Prakash Raj may be one of the most sought-after villains within the South as well as Hindi film industry; however the actor with multiple Prakash Raj iconic roles wears several hats, including producer, director or activist as well as a politician.

From street theater to stage shows, to television and acting in more than 250 film productions, his way to the top came with struggles which included the death of his young son that made him determined to never take things for granted.

Personal life

Prakash Raj was originally named Prakash Rai and born on 26 March 1965 in Bangalore.

He is the brother of Prasad Raj, who is also an actor. He attended school at St. Joseph's High School in India. He then was accepted into St. Joseph's College of Commerce, Bangalore. Geetha, the actress Geetha has introduced Prakash Raj to prominent Tamil film director K. Balachander. Prakash Raj decided to change his surname following K. Balachander's suggestion, though in Karnataka where he hails from he's still known by that title.

Prakash Raj married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994 and together had Meghana and Pooja along with Sidhu who died suddenly aged five after injuries sustained while kite flying.

Then, he got married to choreographer Pony Verma on the 24th of August, 2010. Their son named Vedhanth was born in 2015.

Prakash Raj's father was a Hindu as is his mom, and father is a Roman Catholic, but he is a non-believer.

Prakash Raj Career

In his long and illustrious career that spans thirty years, the actor has delivered amazing performances in Prakash Raj movies like Ghilli' as well as 'Asai', "Anthapuram and 'Singham' "Dabangg," "Pokiri" and 'Abhiyum Naanum' and many other films in a variety of languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam.

He began his political campaign using the hashtag #just asking that was trending on social media following the murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in 2017.

In the same way that Prakash Raj is winning praise for his loving father in the real world, it wouldn't be a mistake to say Prakash Raj has played every type of "father" that exists, on the spectrum of parenting in his films.

As director

Along with Prakash Raj filmography, Prakash was given the title of director along with Naanu the Nanna Kanasu, a film from Kannada in the year 2010 and was the co-producer. The film ran for 125 days in the theaters throughout Karnataka which made it the most popular film in the entire year. He was nominated for Filmfare South "Best Director" category for his debut film.

He later also directed the Telugu as well as the Tamil multilingual film Dhoni. In 2014 He directed the multi-lingual movie Oggarane (in Kannada), Ulavacharu Biryani (in Telugu) and Un Samayal Arayil (in Tamil). While both the Tamil versions and Telugu versions failed to make any magic at the box theater, the Kannada version quickly became the most popular blockbuster of 2014.

Controversies

The ban was not the first an actor was barred from authorities in the Telugu industry. Telugu movie industry experts view the ban as a plot by a group of major heroes and producers. The problems began during the filming for the Telugu movies Pawan Kalyan's Jalsa NTR Jr's Kantri as well as the film by Allu Arjun Parugu.

There was controversy over his nakedness in a scene from his most recent Telugu film on the film Ongole Githa. The film was awarded the "A Certificate" from the Censor Board. Prakash replied: "I did not shed my clothes to make a sensation. I did not have any intentions of participating in that sequence. The script required it. As an actor, I am required to follow the script. The director Bhaskar informed me that it was an important sequence within the framework of the movie, and I followed his directions.

Prakash Raj Awards and Accomplishments

His versatility has earned him five National Awards Including Best Actor for "Kanchivaram"(2007) and the award for Best Film with ' Puttakkana Highway'(2010).

He has also been awarded five Filmfare awards for his films like ' Nuvve Nuvve'"Kanchivaram," "Sivakasi" and 'Ghilli'and 'Tagore'.

He is also renowned for his charitable work. He has adopted a number of communities located in Telangana as well as Karnataka and pledged to support the development of these villages.

Why Prakash Raj?

Prakash Raj is known for his openness. Prakash Raj has voiced his views on a wide range of subjects, ranging from nepotism to the joke of S Durga at IFFI to demonetization, and many more.

Prakash Raj contribution to cinema across a range of languages is impressive which makes him among the most renowned actors of the current. He is well-known for his versatility and ability to elevate the image of Prakash Raj popular roles. He is skilled in a range of accents and styles.