BENGALURU: He has carved a niche for himself in Indian cinema, across tongues. But he has never shied away from speaking his mind. Outside of the film sets, he’s a vocal critic, and a champion for change. On the sidelines of his press conference ahead of the Movie Artists’ Association elections, for which he’s running for president, we catch up with actor Prakash Raj over coffee (without sugar). He speaks about the importance of having an opinion in a democracy, the role celebs play in shaping public opinion and the need for change. Excerpts:
How important is it for people living a democracy to have an opinion?
Or is it okay to not have an opinion at all? It is very important to have an opinion. Whichever side you are on, there might be differences, but one should have an opinion. If you don’t have that in you to question, to blurt out what you have in your mind, it becomes too heavy for you and you become very irresponsible. You have to identify yourself with what you want and only when you speak out, will you know whether you are right or wrong. You can have an argument, you can have a difference of opinion but there’s no point in being neutral.
What is the role that celebrities play when it comes to shaping public opinion?
If a celebrity is a coward, society will be too. A celebrity has reached a place (in society), he has the platform, his voice is strengthened because of the people. He should make a conscious decision to raise his voice. Otherwise it’s just not fair. When it comes to shaping opinion, you are an influencer. So, do it!
What drives you to speak up?
We pay taxes. You are in politics the minute you leave your house. The roads are your politics, the water is your politics, harmony is your politics. You need to question and my conscience says you cannot be quiet. I want to be identified for what I am from within than just my roles and my acting, which is not true, which is not me at all. I don’t want to die before people not knowing who I am and for what I stand for. What death is that? It’s dying before you die.
How have we as a society dealt with the pandemic?
We ourselves are very irresponsible. There’s no scientific temper among us, nor has our society, over generations, evolved in this aspect. That is where the problem is. Complaining about the government and its leaders is a different thing, first let us look at ourselves. How responsible have we been? The culture of patience, the culture of listening, the culture of following is missing. Everybody wants to be a doctor in a pandemic. We are argumentative Indians, we don’t reason. We, as a humankind, have failed. Corona is just a virus, but it has questioned the very pillars we have built our lives on.