“It is difficult to get out of certain characters, and they keep haunting me for days after performing,” said Prakash Raj, a popular film personality.
In an interaction with people in Shivamogga on Monday, Prakash Raj said he could not come out of his character in Paava Kadhaigal, in which he had to play the role of a father who killed his daughter.
It was a story about honour killing. Sai Pallavi was playing the role of his daughter. “Even a day after performing the role, I was crying profusely. My wife was in shock, and I told her to let me go through this,” he said. Similarly, another role he played in Rangamarthanda, a Telugu movie, did haunt him.
“There are 10 to 15 such roles in my career. There are certain roles that I cannot play myself in real life. I am not the person who can commit honour killing. But I have to perform such characters effectively to convey the intended message,” he said.
The actor took questions on various subjects, including his career, politics, opinion on art and literature, and literary figures. When someone asked if he believed in the saying “Art for art’s sake”, the actor said “No”. He argued that art was something creative in response to happenings in society. When his opinion was countered by a question about the importance of aesthetics in art, he replied by quoting a couple of lines from a poem. “Wounds on our bodies would heal if we remained silent. But wounds inflicted on society will bleed more with our silence.” Further, he said the two lines would be the best response to the happenings in society without compromising on the aesthetics of poetry.
Asked about his electoral politics, Prakash Raj said he contested last time for the Lok Sabha but would not do so again. “I have understood my politics. I wish to remain amidst people and do politics. Everybody does politics. We are all politicians in a way. Those who are elected have a five-year-term, but we, the common people, have a never-ending term. In fact, I do more politics than many politicians do,” he said.
Talking about deforestation and conserving waterbodies, Prakash Raj lamented that in a few years there would not be the Cauvery River to fight over. “People of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu often engage in arguments over sharing water from the Cauvery. But we need to understand the issue in terms of how people’s dependence on the river increased over the years. If this continues for a few more years, the river may disappear,” he opined.
The interaction was organised by Bahumukhi, a literary forum, at Kamala Nehru Memorial College. Principal H.S. Nagabhushan, activist K.L. Ashok were present.
