Prakash Raj

Prakash Rai (Kannada & Tulu: ಪ್ರಕಾಶ್ ರೈ; born 26 March 1965), 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 . 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.

Early life

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.

Personal life

Prakash married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994. They have two daughters - Meghna and Pooja and a son, Sidhu. Sidhu died of injuries...
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