Actor-director-politician Prakash Raj, who has created magic on screen with Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Konda, and Malayalam films, is celebrating his 57th birthday today. Not many are aware that Prakash Raj’s original name was Prakash Rai, and he changed his name following the advice of Tamil director Balachadar.
On this special day, let’s get to know a few more unknown facts about Prakash Raj.
In 1994, Prakash Raj married Lalita Kumari. However, due to their misunderstandings, both filed for divorce in 2009. After that, Prakash met film choreographer Pony Verma on the sets of a film, fell in love, and got married in 2010.
Prakash is the father of three children: two daughters and a son. Interestingly, he remarried his wife Pony on the 11th anniversary of his second marriage.
Although Prakash Raj has made a name for himself in regional cinema and Bollywood, success didn’t come his way easily.
Prakash used to earn Rs 300 per month for stage shows in the early stages of his career. He was also an avid supporter of street theatre. The actor has over 2000 street theatre performances to his credit. He’s been doing theatre since he was in seventh grade.
He became almost synonymous with negative roles over time. Fans will remember his characters from the films Singham, Kalki, Anniyan, and Dabangg 2 for the rest of their lives. Prakash often overshadowed the protagonist in films in which he played the villain. His success mantra, many say, is that he never follows a template. Prakash is a versatile actor and plays each negative role in his style.
Aside from reading and acting, the actor is a big fan of farming. In Hyderabad, he owns a pesticide-free organic farm.
