Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj (born Prakash Rai on 26 March 1965) is an Indian actor, director, producer, and politician who works in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam cinema. He made his film debut in the Kannada film *Mithileya Seetheyaru* (1988). He later worked in the Tamil and Telugu film industries.

Raj won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as politician Tamizhselvan in Mani Ratnam's Tamil political drama *Iruvar* (1997). He appeared in character and antagonist roles in films including *Antahpuram* (1998), *Badri* (2000), *Ghilli* (2004), and *Pokiri* (2006). He also played patriarchs in the family dramas *Bommarillu* (2006) and *Abhiyum Naanum* (2008). In 2008, he won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his role as a silk weaver in Priyadarshan's Tamil drama *Kanchivaram*.