Saturday, September 17, 2011
Birth of an Actor
Throw stones and I will build a house try 2 burn me and I will use that fire 2 light my life.if u chase me I will reach goal faster.
I was astonished to see the above statement when maverick film maker Ramgopal Varma tweeted it long ago.What an incredible confidence this guy has!!!He is the best example for optimism and confidence. Most probably he is one of the best character actors Indian cinema has ever witnessed.Yes i am talking about the Prakash Rai also known as Prakash Raj.
One of my earliest memory of him is from t.v serial Guddada Bhoota telecasted on Doordarshan in early 90s.Needless to say,it had an unforgettable theme song which was rehashed from a Tulu Folk song and Prakash Rai made a name for himself from that serial.He slowly started to act in movies in supporting roles,most memorable are his small role in epic war movie Muthina Hara,Nishkarsha,Lock up Death and many Ravichandran's movies.
One fine day he got a call from guru K.Balachander and he offered him a role in the movie Duet which did wonders to his career.A small time actor from Bengaluru who started acting in stage plays, suddenly became a household name in South India and then a superstar.
According to me his three best performances are Iruvar in Tamil,Nagamandala in Kannada and Anthapuram in Telugu.His potential as an actor came out very well in Iruvar and he won National Award for it.It is considered as one of the best works of Mani Rathnam as well as Prakash Rai.It is the fictionalized account of the life of Tamil film icon MGR and writer politician Karunanithi.Prakash Rai played the character influenced by Karuna who speaks pure Tamil and Prakash Rai being a non Tamil carried the role very well.Coming to Nagamandala directed by multiple National Award winner T.S.Nagabharana,the way he spoke North Karnataka dialect Kannada in the movie is priceless.It is very hard for the guy who came from South Karnataka region.His acting is over the top once again and it became a surprise hit in the box office even though it was made with a artistic feel.After his Telugu blockbuster Okkadu he became most sought after villain in Tamil and Telugu and actually acted in lot of mindless commercial cinemas but invested the money he earned from it in making sensible cinemas through his production house, Duet movies.He made some critically acclaimed movies like Velliterai,Poi,Mozhi,Payanam,Puttakkana Highway etc.Most of them were commercial success as well.
I personally feel his acting skill is comparable to Hollywood giant, multiple Academy Award winning actor Jack Nicholson.In India, movies are very star centric and are made for masses.There is huge dearth of sensible audience who appreciates serious cinema.Generally, movies with rich artistic value is considered as elite and very less amount of money is spent on that kind of cinemas and also it gets very little amount of attention.Some of his brilliant Kannada movies which i know, deserved more recognition but ended up being an 'art' cinema with lack of promotion and he him had to choose mainstream commercial cinemas which hardly did justice to his enormous talent.
What surprises me the most is his command over the language and understanding the local culture and literature.He proved his versatility by doing lead roles, supporting roles,villian,comedian and also won two National Awards[Actually he deserves more] and many State awards,Filmfare awards.Indian cinema needs more intellectual producers,film makers who truly loves literature,cinema.Prakash Rai is one of them.He just needs respect and appreciation from the audience.
I was astonished to see the above statement when maverick film maker Ramgopal Varma tweeted it long ago.What an incredible confidence this guy has!!!He is the best example for optimism and confidence. Most probably he is one of the best character actors Indian cinema has ever witnessed.Yes i am talking about the Prakash Rai also known as Prakash Raj.
One of my earliest memory of him is from t.v serial Guddada Bhoota telecasted on Doordarshan in early 90s.Needless to say,it had an unforgettable theme song which was rehashed from a Tulu Folk song and Prakash Rai made a name for himself from that serial.He slowly started to act in movies in supporting roles,most memorable are his small role in epic war movie Muthina Hara,Nishkarsha,Lock up Death and many Ravichandran's movies.
One fine day he got a call from guru K.Balachander and he offered him a role in the movie Duet which did wonders to his career.A small time actor from Bengaluru who started acting in stage plays, suddenly became a household name in South India and then a superstar.
According to me his three best performances are Iruvar in Tamil,Nagamandala in Kannada and Anthapuram in Telugu.His potential as an actor came out very well in Iruvar and he won National Award for it.It is considered as one of the best works of Mani Rathnam as well as Prakash Rai.It is the fictionalized account of the life of Tamil film icon MGR and writer politician Karunanithi.Prakash Rai played the character influenced by Karuna who speaks pure Tamil and Prakash Rai being a non Tamil carried the role very well.Coming to Nagamandala directed by multiple National Award winner T.S.Nagabharana,the way he spoke North Karnataka dialect Kannada in the movie is priceless.It is very hard for the guy who came from South Karnataka region.His acting is over the top once again and it became a surprise hit in the box office even though it was made with a artistic feel.After his Telugu blockbuster Okkadu he became most sought after villain in Tamil and Telugu and actually acted in lot of mindless commercial cinemas but invested the money he earned from it in making sensible cinemas through his production house, Duet movies.He made some critically acclaimed movies like Velliterai,Poi,Mozhi,Payanam,Puttakkana Highway etc.Most of them were commercial success as well.
I personally feel his acting skill is comparable to Hollywood giant, multiple Academy Award winning actor Jack Nicholson.In India, movies are very star centric and are made for masses.There is huge dearth of sensible audience who appreciates serious cinema.Generally, movies with rich artistic value is considered as elite and very less amount of money is spent on that kind of cinemas and also it gets very little amount of attention.Some of his brilliant Kannada movies which i know, deserved more recognition but ended up being an 'art' cinema with lack of promotion and he him had to choose mainstream commercial cinemas which hardly did justice to his enormous talent.
What surprises me the most is his command over the language and understanding the local culture and literature.He proved his versatility by doing lead roles, supporting roles,villian,comedian and also won two National Awards[Actually he deserves more] and many State awards,Filmfare awards.Indian cinema needs more intellectual producers,film makers who truly loves literature,cinema.Prakash Rai is one of them.He just needs respect and appreciation from the audience.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Paramathma First Look
Movie: Paramathma
Director:Yograj Bhat
Cast:Puneeth Rajkumar,Ananth Nag
Music:Harikrishna
Release:October
He gave us epic Mungaru Male,and with Pancharangi he made us laugh.The man Yograj Bhat is back again with Paramathma starring the biggest box office star in Kannada filmdom Puneeth Rajkumar himself.The film is expected to create box office records.The film is shot in the beautiful locales of Sakleshpura,Dakshina Kannada and the surrounding coastal areas,Shimoga.Here is the first look
Director:Yograj Bhat
Cast:Puneeth Rajkumar,Ananth Nag
Music:Harikrishna
Release:October
He gave us epic Mungaru Male,and with Pancharangi he made us laugh.The man Yograj Bhat is back again with Paramathma starring the biggest box office star in Kannada filmdom Puneeth Rajkumar himself.The film is expected to create box office records.The film is shot in the beautiful locales of Sakleshpura,Dakshina Kannada and the surrounding coastal areas,Shimoga.Here is the first look
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