Prakash Raj, whose real name is Prakash Rai, was introduced to the Tamil screen by K. Balachander in the Prabhu-Ramesh Aravind starrer, Duet. Prakash Raj was so grateful for this breakthrough that when he turned producer, he named his production company Duet Films.
Born on 26 March 1965, he made his mark in TV shows and in various stage productions in his home state, Karnataka before being introduced to K. Balachander by actress Geetha. It was K Balachander who renamed Prakash Rai as Prakash Raj.
Prakash Raj soon proved to be a very versatile acting, switching easily from character role to comedy to deep drama but he found greatest success playing the villain. His roles in Aasai, Iruvar, Poomani and Ghilli made him a firm favourite among Tamil audiences.
His fame and success were not limited to the Tamil screen. Fluent in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, English and Hindi, Prakash Raj enjoyed stupendous success in films in all these languages.
He turned producer through the Tamil film Dhaya and has since become a prolific producer whose films include Naam, Azhagiya Theeye, Kannda Naal Mudhal, Poi, Mozhi, Velli Thirai, Abhiyum Naanum, Inidhu Inidhu, Mayilu and Dhoni.
A confirmed atheist and a vocal politician, Prakash Ra is no stranger to controversy. He was married twice. His first wife was Lalitha Kumarie, sister of Disco Shanthi. He married her in 1994 and they had two daughters – Meghana and Pooja. Their only son, Sidhu died in 2004 in a freak accident. The couple divorced in 2009 and Prakash Raj married dance choreographer, Pony Verma in 2010. They have a son, Vedant.
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