Struggles, despair and successes, actor Prakash Raj has seen it all. Once a theatre actor, he is now not just an actor familiar to all southern film industries but also to Hindi film audiences.
And yet, Prakash’s heart lies with the Kannada industry, and Bangalore, where he started off from, is, “Home sweet home. I miss the language, my friends and the literary treasures of my home city. I don’t mean to imply that I don’t feel welcome in Mumbai; I have been received very well by people over there,” he says.
Prakash has 200 plus films to his credit as actor and director. “It’s no longer a matter of looking back at the journey I have made so far. My film career is a never-ending stretch,” he says.
Prakash was in Bangalore to work on his next directorial venture, Oggarane. Last he directed a film, Naanu Nanna Kanasu, was three years ago. “In the meantime, I did a film, Dhoni, which was shot in Telugu and Tamil and produced a couple of films. Later, I got busy with Bollywood films. I felt like making a film now and so I am here,” he explains.
Oggarane is a remake of Malayalam film Salt N’ Pepper that starred Lal, Asif Ali, Shweta Menon and Mythili. It was directed by Aashiq Abu. Prakash will first shoot its Kannada version, and follow it up with directing the Tamil and Telugu remakes as well. “Oggarane talks about food. I would not like to reveal much about my role as it will divulge a lot about the story. All I can say is that the main character is an archaeologist. Oggarane will bear the stamp of directorial styles,” says Prakash.
Oggarane will also star S P Balasubramaniam. llyaraja will compose the score. “I am really blessed to have these people in my film because I need their experience and talent. Having worked with them before, it is always wonderful to revisit the experience. It also makes for a learning process for me,” he adds.
But why direct a remake? “Simple, I was influenced by Salt N' Pepper. I loved the film and I felt like I had a lot to tell through the story, so I picked it up. As an actor I am playing out somebody else’s dreams and when I direct, I put in my dreams,” Prakash admits.
Rumour had it that Prakash had initially approached actor Ravichandran and Yograj Bhat, director-turned-actor for the lead role in Oggarane. He says, “No. I have never approached them. It is false news, just like you said, a rumour.”