Prakash Rai life and biography

Prakash Rai born 26 March 1965, Puttur, Karnataka, India, better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning actor and producer who has worked in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. Though he was born in a Tulu family he achieved fame through Tamil and Telugu films. He got introduced to films by K. Balachander in the movie Duet (1994). In remembrance, he named his production company "Duet Movies".

He has played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist in Tamil and Telugu and of late, as a character actor. He is considered to be one amongst the club of natural actors. He has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan.

Prakash Raj was born to a Tulu speaking Bunt family in Puttur, Karnataka on 26 March 1965. He did his schooling from St.Joseph's Indian High School in Bangalore. He later joined St. Josephs College of commerce, Bangalore, where he participated in many plays, most of which were in Kannada.

rakash married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994. They have two daughters - Meghna and Pooja and a son, Sidhu. Sidhu died of injuries sustained in a fall in 2004. The couple divorced in 2009. He then married choreographer Pony Verma on August 24, 2010.

As actor:

Prakash began his acting career with Kannada Doordarshan serials like Bisilu Kudure and Guddada Bhootha. He later took up supporting roles in Kannada films like Raamachari, Nishkarsha and Lockup Death. He was noticed for his dialogue delivery and histrionics. His breakthrough role came in form of Harakeya Kuri starring Vishnuvardhan and Geetha, directed by K. S. L. Swamy. His performance in the movie was noticed by Geetha and she, in turn, introduced him to her mentor K. Balachander, a Tamil film director. He acted under the screen name "Prakash Rai" in Kannada films and was rechristened "Prakash Raj" by K. Balachander for his debut Tamil film Duet, which saw him playing his first major role. He became popular through Tamil films, where he did most of his films. Following this he went on to act in more than 250 films.

Mozhi, directed by Radhamohan, was a well acclaimed. He played an important role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja which became a box-office success. In 2008 he produced a film titled Abhiyum Naanum and played an important character in it. He remade the movie in Kannada as Naanu Nanna Kanasu which was critically acclaimed as well.

As producer:

Recently he took on the mantle of producer and has produced several movies in Tamil (Kollywood). Most of the movies he produced turned out to be box-office hits and were also critically acclaimed. His movies are also considered as family entertainers. He produced the movie Dhaya in which he acted as the hero with actress Meena which was a hit and earned him a special jury award for his performance. His movie Poi (lie in English) directed by his mentor, K. Balachander, was a non-grosser. It starred Uday Kiran, K. Balachander and Prakash Raj.

Prakash Raj had danced in the song "Kanchi Paanaiyin Maela" for his film Vellithirai.

His Kannada production Naanu Nanna Kanasu completed 100 days successfully across Karanataka. His next production venture, titled "Akasmaath", is a remake of the Telugu hit "Aithe" and stars himself along with new actors. The movie is scheduled to go on floors in September 2010 to be directed by Dayal Padmanabhan.

As director:

Prakash Raj directed Naanu Nanna Kanasu in Kannada (2010), a remake of his own Tamil production Abhiyum Naanum.

Awards
National Film Awards

1998 - Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Iruvar.[8][9]
1999 - Special Jury Award for his performance in the Telugu film Anthapuram.[9]
2003 - Special Jury Award for his roles in Tamil film Dhaya and Telugu film Khadgam.[9]
2008 - Best Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Kanchivaram.[9]

Filmfare Awards South

2002 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) - Nuvve Nuvve
2003 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) - Tagore
2004 - Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) - Ghilli
2005 - Filmfare Award for Best Villain - Tamil - Sivakasi
2009 - Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil) - Kanchivaram

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards

2000 - Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain - Vaanavil
2005 - Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain - Various films

Nandi Awards

Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor - Khadgam (2002)
Nandi Award for Best Character Actor - Amma Nanna O Tamila Ammayi (2003)
Nandi Award for Best Villain - Gangotri (2003)
Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actor - Bommarillu (2006)

Read more