Biography
Who is Prakash Raj?
Early life and education
Born Prakash Rai in Puttur, India, the actor later adopted the professional name Prakash Raj. He attended St. Joseph's Indian High School and completed further schooling at St. Joseph's Boys' High School in Bangalore. He subsequently enrolled at St. Joseph's College, Bengaluru. His brother is named Prasad Raj.
Actress Geetha introduced him to the filmmaker K. Balachander. On the advice of K. Balachander, he changed his surname from Rai to Raj for his professional career. He continues to be addressed as Prakash Rai in his home state of Karnataka.
Acting career
Prakash began his career performing in street theatre and stage shows in Bengaluru, completing two thousand performances. He transitioned to television with Doordarshan serials including Bisilu Kudure and Guddada Bhootha. Early film roles included appearances in Kannada movies such as Ranadheera, Ramachaari, and Nishkarsha. He made his official debut in Tamil cinema with the 1994 film Duet.
As a polyglot, he performs in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, English, Malayalam, and Marathi. He achieved critical success in Mani Ratnam's 1997 film Iruvar, where he portrayed Tamilselvan. He gained significant popularity playing antagonists in films like the 2004 action movie Ghilli and the 2010 film Singam. Other well-known performances include the hospital administrator role in Vasool Raja MBBS and the father figure in Santosh Subramaniam.
Directing and production
Prakash founded the production company Duet Movies. His early productions include the film Dhaya, which earned him a National Film Award, as well as projects like Mozhi, Abhiyum Naanum, and Inidhu Inidhu. He also produced and starred in the 2011 film Puttakkana Highway, which secured a National Award for Best Regional Film.
He expanded into directing with the 2010 Kannada film Naanu Nanna Kanasu, which was a commercial success in theatres. He also directed the multilingual film titled Oggarane in Kannada, Ulavacharu Biryani in Telugu, and Un Samayal Arayil in Tamil. Also, he served as the host for the second season of the television program Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi.
Personal and political life
Prakash married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994. The couple had two daughters, Meghana and Pooja, and a son named Sidhu who died in 2004. They divorced in 2009. He married choreographer Pony Verma in 2010, and they have a son named Vedhanth born in 2015. He identifies as a non-believer.
In 2019, he entered politics by running as an independent candidate for the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency. He received 28,906 votes during that election. He has also engaged in philanthropic activities, including the adoption of the villages Kondareddypalle in Telangana and Bandlarahatti in Karnataka.
Birthday and age
Prakash Raj was born on March 26, 1965, which makes Prakash 61 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aries sign. Prakash shares the date with 36 other famous people.
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