Prakash Raj

Prakash Raj is a versatile Indian actor, director and producer, born on 26 March 1965 in Karnataka. A multiple National Film Award winner across Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, he is best known to Hindi audiences as the villain Jaykant Shikre in Singham.

Prakash Raj is one of Indian cinema's most versatile and respected actors, known for playing everything from menacing villains to warm-hearted fathers across multiple languages. Born Prakash Rai on 26 March 1965 in Karnataka, he rose from street theatre to become a multiple National Film Award winner working in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi films. He is also a director, producer and an outspoken public voice on social and political issues. This page covers the Prakash Raj biography, his age, family, career, wives and net worth.

The Prakash Raj family had a modest, mixed-faith background — his father, Manjunath Rai, was Hindu, and his mother, Swarnalatha, who worked as a nurse, was Roman Catholic. He grew up amid financial hardship. He has siblings, including a brother, Prasad Raj, who is also an actor.

Prakash Raj studied at St. Joseph's Boys' High School and St. Joseph's College of Commerce in Bengaluru. Drawn to the stage from his college years, he left formal studies to pursue theatre full time, reportedly performing in a huge number of street and stage plays for very modest pay in his early career.

The Prakash Raj career began on stage, where he honed his craft across hundreds of performances, before moving to Kannada and Tamil television in the early 1990s. The renowned director K. Balachander gave him a break and is credited with changing his screen name from Prakash Rai to Prakash Raj.

He became one of South Indian cinema's most in-demand character actors and antagonists, delivering acclaimed performances across languages and winning several National Film Awards. Hindi audiences know him best as the villain Jaykant Shikre in Singham (2011) and for films such as Wanted and Dabangg 2.

Beyond acting, Prakash Raj turned filmmaker, directing and producing films across languages, and has remained an influential and independent figure in the industry, unafraid to voice his views on public affairs.

Prakash Raj has been married twice. His first marriage, to actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994, ended in divorce in 2009; they had daughters Meghna and Pooja and a son, Sidhu, who tragically died in childhood in 2004. In 2010 he married choreographer Pony Verma, with whom he has a son, Vedhanth. A keen organic farmer, Prakash Raj spends time growing fruit and vegetables on his farm and is known for his interest in social causes, running foundations for rural and community development.

The Prakash Raj net worth is reported by third-party outlets at around ₹24 crore or more (a public estimate rather than a confirmed figure). His income comes from acting across multiple film industries, along with his work as a director and producer and various endorsements. He owns a notable collection of cars and has invested in farmland, reflecting his interest in agriculture.