Prakash Raj

Not to be confused with Prakash Raj (footballer).

Prakash Raj
Raj at the 2018 Kerala Literature Festival
Born
Prakash Rai

(1965-03-26) 26 March 1965 (age 59)
Bangalore, Mysore State, India
Occupations
  • Actor
  • film producer
  • director
  • television presenter
  • politician
Years active1986–present
WorksFull list
Spouses
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1994; div. 2009)​
  • ​
    (m. 2010)​
Children4
AwardsFull list

Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai;[1] 26 March 1965[2]) is an Indian actor, film director, producer, television presenter, and politician. Known for his works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, English, and Hindi-language films, he is the recipient of several accolades, including five National Film Awards, eight Nandi Awards, eight Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, four SIIMA Awards, three CineMAA Awards, and three Vijay Awards. Apart from his native languages Tulu and Kannada, Raj's fluency in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, English, and Marathi has placed him among the most sought after actors in Indian cinema.[3]

After working in stage shows and television in Kannada for a few years, Raj ventured into films. He made his debut in Tamil cinema through Duet (1994), by K. Balachander, and has since been a commercially successful film star in Tamil. In remembrance, he named his production company Duet Movies.[4][5]

A polyglot, he played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist and, of late, as a character actor. Prakash, as an actor has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar, a National Film Award – Special Mention for the Telugu film Antahpuram, directed by Krishna Vamsi in 1998[6] and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2007 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan.[7]

As a producer, he has won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada for Puttakkana Highway, directed by his long-time theatre friend B. Suresha in 2011. Prakash was also the host of Neengalum Vellalam Oru Kodi during the show's second season.[8]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference rai was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference dinakaran was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Prakash Rai responds to detractors". The Times of India. 23 December 2017. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2020.
  4. ^ 'I cannot allow love to rule my thoughts' Archived 27 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine, hindu.com, 8 June 2004.
  5. ^ Catching them young! Archived 26 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Malathi Rangarajan, 19 August 2010 The Hindu
  6. ^ "46th National Film Festival 1999, pg 82" (PDF). nic.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  7. ^ "55th National Film Awards for the Year 2007" (PDF). Press Information Bureau (Govt. of India). Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
  8. ^ Raghavan, Nikhil (14 February 2013). "The game changer". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.