Prakash Raj Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More StarsUnfolded

Banned from working in Telugu Films
In 2008, he was banned by the Telugu film industry for the first time for his unprofessional attitude during film shootings. The top production houses of the Telugu film industry came together and made a collective decision to ban Prakash Raj from working in Telugu films. He was then banned by the Telugu film industry five more times. During an interview, while talking about the ban, Prakash said,

"If people who work with me say that I play hide and seek, why do they repeat me? Why am I in Mahesh's nine films out of his ten. Why don't you judge me with my work? How I go about it is not important. I don't go by the rules. I put my foot down, I don't take mediocrity. There are certain locations where I can come only at 12 in the morning. I don't go by the rules.”

Negative Remarks Against PM Narendra Modi
Prakash was good friends with the Indian journalist-turned activist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead outside her residence in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar in Bengaluru in 2017. Prakash raised his voice against the act and started a campaign #justasking on his social media accounts. While he was at the 11th State meet of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), he talked about the murderers of Gauri. He said,

"The prime minister and others were acting as if nothing had happened despite having social media followers celebrating the killing on social media. Who killed my dear friend Gauri is not as important to me today as who has been celebrating her death. There may not be proof as to who killed Gauri but we can see who is celebrating it and from this we can form an idea of who could have killed her. The underlying cruelty in all of this is apparent to many people. Many of those celebrating Gauri’s death are persons followed by the Prime Minister on social media. The PM has been absolutely silent about these people."

He continued,

"When we see these people going around acting as if nothing has happened, I feel like giving them the five National Awards I have won for acting. Look I am a seasoned actor, can I not see through the acting? Give me some respect. Am I stupid? Are people foolish that they cannot see through all this? Are the youth of today blind? The time has come for Modi to understand this. I saw a video, I couldn’t tell if he was the Uttar Pradesh chief minister or a temple priest. Looks like he plays a double role. When I see such talented actors, I feel like giving them all five National Awards that were given to me. Let’s not be afraid of such people. They are not stronger than us. Our weakness is their strength."

After his comments, a case was filed against him for making negative remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi of Gauri's murder.

Backlash Over a Controversial Dialogue
He received a huge backlash for a dialogue in the Hindi film ‘Singham’ (2011). In a scene from the film, Jaikant Shikre (played by Prakash) threatened Inspector Bajirao Singham (played by Ajay Devgn) that he would bring 1,000 people from the Karnataka border to thrash him. Ajay (who played Bajirao Singham, a Maratha), responded that one lion would suffice to shoo away a thousand dogs. The dialogue was not well received by the Kannadigas, and they started protesting against Prakash Raj for not making an objection to the scene. Later, the protest heated up when the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) demanded the deletion of the scene from the film. During an interview, when Prakash was asked about the protest, he said,

"I am a Kannadiga myself and I love my mother tongue Kannada. I'm very proud of my community and would never deliberately do anything to hurt my people. How would I allow conversations that provide pain to the people of Karnataka in any movie in which I am cast? There is nothing controversial about the dialogue. I am a Maratha in the movie, the controversy started just because I am a Kannadiga and I used the word 'Karnataka border' in the film because the villain in the film stays in Goa, the Karnataka border."

Later, the makers of the film deleted the scene from the film and the team of the film Singham apologised for hurting the sentiments of Kannadigas.

Passing Hurting Comments on Hindus
In 2018, he made a comment on Hindus and their beliefs which was taken as an insult by the Indian advocate Kiran, who filed a complaint against Prakash at the Hanumantha Nagar Police Station, Bengaluru, Karnataka. In an interview, Prakash said,

"You do not know about cows. You know about cow urine. If you want to wash your clothes, you need 1 kg of cow dung and 2 litres of cow urine. You then need to mix all of this and wash your clothes. Why because, except for cow urine, you do not know anything else. So, do not give us this story.”

To which Advocate Kiran N said,

"Raj made unfair comments about the cow and its excretions which is defamatory against the Hindu community. By depicting it as detergents or washing agents, with malafide intention and ulterior motive to insult the religious feelings of the complainant as well as the entire followers of Hinduism.”

Convicted with Various IPC charges
On 20 Dec 2018, he was convicted with various charges like:
IPC Section-143 for being a member with an unlawful assembly
IPC Section-147 for rioting
IPC Section-188 for disobedience to order duly promulgated by a public servant
IPC Section-341 for wrongful restraint
IPC Section-149 for unlawful assembly guilty of an offence committed in prosecution of common object

Ram-Leela' Controversy
He received a huge backlash from the public for comparing Ram Leela with child porn. In 2019, a video of Prakash went viral in which he said,

"I do not want events like Ram-Leela, where models who act as the mythological characters are brought on helicopters and people worship these, happening in the country.”

He further asked the reporter,

"Will you “leave it” if children watch child porn. “It is dangerous for society.”

Then the reporter asked him how he could compare Ram Leela to child porn. He said,

"It is dangerous. Ram-Leela instill fear in the minds of people belonging to minority communities. I understand people going to a temple for worship, but what is this natak (Ram-Leela). I understand them going to a temple, there is an idol. That is our culture. In full public view, why are you doing this natak (drama).”

Calling Pawan Kalyan a Chameleon
In 2020, he attracted another controversy when he called the Indian actor and politician Pawan Kalyan a “chameleon." While he was talking to a reporter on Telugu news channel TV9, the reporter asked Prakash’s opinion on Pawan Kalyan’s political move. Prakash replied,

"I really don't understand what happened to him, I'm very disappointed. You (Pawan Kalyan) are a leader by yourself, you have a party (Jana Sena), I wonder why you are looking up/pointing at another leader. If he is changing three-four times, isn't he a chameleon (Oosaravelli)?."

Backlash and Complaints over Chandrayaan-3 Post
In August 2023, Prakash Raj posted a cartoon on X (formerly Twitter) that appeared to mock the Chandrayaan-3 mission; the cartoon showed a man pouring tea. Prakash later received backlash for the post as many believed that it was disrespectful to the nation. Prakash, however, later took to X and clarified that the post was just a reference to an old joke.
Prakash Raj's post on X
Following the backlash, two complaints were registered against Prakash. One was from Pramod N. of Shimoga, Karnataka, who emailed the Governor of Karnataka for seeking strict actions against Prakash. The other was by S. B. Gayakwad from Sangh Parivar, who lodged a complaint at the Banhatti Police Station in Bagalkot, Karnataka.

Sanatana Dharma Controversy Row
In September 2023, Prakash Raj was clouded in a controversy when he expressed his views on Sanatana Dharma following the Sanatana Dharma controversy row started by Udhayanidhi Stalin, who had referred to 'Sanatana Dharma' as a disease during a press conference. On 10 September 2023, during his interaction with writers, activists, and others at S. M. Pandit Rang Mandir in Gulbarga, Karnataka, Prakash Raj expressed his views on Sanatana Dharma and its followers. He asserted that those who vocally advocated for the preservation of Sanatana Dharma and Hindutva should not be identified as Hindus, as they positioned themselves as promoters of Hindutva rather than adherents of the religion. Prakash Raj, during the gathering, said,

Those who speak aggressively on upholding Sanatana Dharma and Hindutva are not Hindus. They project themselves as contractors of Hindutva. We must tell them that they are speaking for furthering their political ill-intentions. People must understand it and I hope they will."

A 100-crore Ponzi Scheme Case
On 23 November 2023, Prakash Raj was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection to a Rs. 100 crore Ponzi scam allegedly operated by Pranav Jewellers, a jewellery store in Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), Tamil Nadu, for which Prakash had been serving as a brand ambassador. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the scam came to light when the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) in Trichy filed an FIR against those involved. During the investigation, it was revealed that Pranav Jewellers had collected Rs. 100 crores from the public in the name of a gold investment scheme and promised high returns. The company, however, not only failed to fulfill its commitment but also did not return the invested money to the investors.

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