Prakash Raj is a polyglot Indian film actor, film director, producer, thespian and television presenter who is known for his works in the South Indian film industry. Apart from his mother tongue Kannada, Prakash's fluency in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Hindi and English has placed him among the most sought after actors in Indian cinema. He has played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist and, of late, as a character actor. Prakash, as an actor has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan, and as a producer has won a National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada for Puttakkana Highway.