Prakash Raj is an established actor, producer, director, and television presenter in the Indian film industry. He is known for his works in South Indian and Hindi films. Starting in the early 90s, he went on to appear in about 400 films. He has received several awards and accolades in his career, spanning more than three decades. Raj was born in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India, to Manjunath Rai and Swarnalatha Raj. Actor Prasad Raj is his brother. His original name is Prakash Rai. He started using the surname Raj instead of Rai on the advice of director K. Balachander. Raj studied at St. Joseph's Indian High School and St. Joseph's College of Commerce in Bengaluru. His first brush with acting was in a play he did in seventh grade. Later, when he was in college, he began acting in theatre but didn't think much about it. His love for stage shows developed after he started going to Kalakshetra in Bengaluru and participating in theatre rehearsals. He used to perform in back-to-back stage shows for a meagre monthly payment of Rs. 300. After performing in 2,000 street theatre shows, he felt the urge to explore bigger opportunities in this field. His journey into the acting world started with television. He also worked in the film industry as an assistant director and editor, then got the opportunity to act in films. Raj started his acting career on television with serials like Guddada Bhootha (Kannada and Tulu) and Bisilu Kudure (Kannada) that were aired on Doordarshan. Later, he started acting in Kannada movies in supporting roles. His performance in Harakeya Kuri (1992) caught the attention of the movie's lead actress Geetha. She introduced Raj to director K. Balachander, who gave him the scope to play a major role in his Tamil film Duet (1994). After appearing in a few more Tamil and Kannada movies, he made his debut in Telugu cinema in 1995 with Sankalpam (1995). The same year, he appeared in Mani Ratnam's Tamil romantic drama Bombay (1995). It featured among the top 20 Indian movies in the rankings of the British Film Institute. Raj ventured into Malayalam cinema in 1996 with The Prince (1996), helmed by Suresh Krishna. He played an antagonist in K. Balachander's Kalki (1996), for which he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award 1996 for Best Villain. After acting in a few more movies, such as Priyam (1996), Pavitra Bandham (1996), Alexander (1996), Suswagatham (1998), and Hitler (1997), he appeared in Mani Ratnam's political drama Iruvar (1997). The film revolves around the relationship between two politicians. Raj received the National Film Award 1997 for Best Supporting Actor for his performance. He then appeared in a prominent role in T.S. Nagabharana's film Nagamandala (1997), which was among the selected movies for the International Film Festival of India in 1997 under the Indian Panorama. He continued to appear in several other movies before playing a pivotal role in Anthahpuram (1998). The film revolves around a feudal society. Raj won the National Film Award 1998 for Best Actor (Special Jury) for his performance. In Vaanavil (2000), Raj played the role of an antagonist, which earned him the Tamil Nadu State Film Award 2000 for Best Villain.