Prakash Raj Birthday Special: 9 lesser known facts related to Tamil actor that might surprise you

Apart from acting, Tollywood and Bollywood actor Prakash Raj is known for his controversial statements. Born in Bangalore on March 26, 1965, the actor’s father was a Hindu, while his mother was a Roman Catholic. He also has a brother Prasad Raj, who works in the industry as a hero. Prakash Raj did his early studies at St Joseph Indian High School. Then he did his further studies from St Joseph College of Commerce, Bangalore. On the occasion of his 60th birthday, let’s have a look at some of the lesser-known facts about the actor here. 

1. Prakash Raj worked in theatre in the initial days. Apart from this, he also used to do street plays. He used to get 300 rupees a month for working in the theatre. After this, he worked in TV serials. Then gradually he turned towards films.
2. He has worked in Kannada, Tamil, Marathi, Malayalam and Hindi films. He played many types of characters in films. In most of the films, he played the role of a villain. He has also received 5 National Awards. Apart from acting in films, he has also done direction. He changed his name from Prakash Rai to Prakash Raj for films.
3. While he is a superstar in the South film industry, he has also made a different identity for himself by acting in Bollywood films. Prakash entered Bollywood in 2009 with the film ‘Wanted’. He acted in films like ‘Singham’, ‘Dabangg-2’, ‘Mumbai Mirror’, ‘Policegiri’, ‘Heropanti’, and ‘Zanjeer’. He has played the villain in most of the films.
4. Telugu film producers banned Prakash Raj 6 times for working in the film industry and his bad behaviour. On this Prakash Raj said, ‘I follow my rules and regulations and cannot back out from them.’ However, on his ban, there were reports in the South film industry and media that some big heroes and producers had conspired against him.
5. Prakash Raj has not kept any manager to date. According to him, he decides his fees himself. ‘I am the only actor in the industry who has not kept a manager to date. I decide everything myself, from attending phone calls to film selection, story and fees. Not only this, but I also donate 20 per cent of my earnings to charity,’ the actor said. 
6. Prakash Raj married actress Lalita Kumari in 1994. From this marriage, he had daughters Meghna and Puja and a son Siddhu. Everything was going well in Prakash Raj’s life, but the sudden death of his son destroyed everything. In 2004, 5-year-old Siddhu fell while flying a kite. The injury was so deep that even the doctors could not save him. On the death of his son, Prakash Raj said that he had cremated his son’s body in his field. ‘I used to go there many times. After going there, I feel how helpless I am. I love my daughters very much, but I still miss my son a lot,’ the actor said. After the death of the son, Prakash Raj and his wife Lalita started having differences. As a result, both of them got divorced in 2009.
7. The next year after the divorce, he married a choreographer 12 years younger than him. It was only a year after the divorce that on August 24, 2010, Prakash married choreographer Pony Verma, who is 12 years younger than him. 5 years after the marriage, Pony gave birth to a son Vedant.
8.  Prakash Raj has adopted a village in the backward Mahbubnagar district of Telangana. He called the state’s Panchayat Raj and Information Technology Minister K Tarakarama Rao and expressed his desire to adopt Kondaredipalle village in Mahbubnagar district.
9. Prakash Raj’s total nett worth is Rs 50 crores. He charges 2.50 crores for a film. Prakash Raj also earns money from the production of films, television shows and stage shows. He owns his own production company, Duet Movies. He owns houses in Mumbai and Chennai as well as a farmhouse.

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