Malayali movie buffs first saw Prasanth Alexander in 2002 Kamal flick 'Nammal'. Seventeen years later, he still entertains audience and is thrilled about the overwhelming success of his latest release Madhuraraja. The actor, who is on a roll, is also incredibly excited about his Bollywood debut.
He essays a significant role in India's Most Wanted starring Arjun Kapoor in the lead role. Prasanth gets candid to Onmanorama about his Bollywood debut and his experiences.
"An audition was held in South India to cast an actor for the role. However, the makers couldn't find anyone suitable. Later, they began to go through the profiles of those who studied at the film institute. The casting agency 'Casting Bay' stumbled up on my picture in someone else's profile. As they found similarities with the character, they contacted me. I send them an audition video. This Bollywood film came to me when I was least expecting it. I am someone who hasn't even thought of acting in a Hindi movie", reveals Prashant.
'India’s Most Wanted' is said to be based on real incidents. The movie is about a five member gang who is in pursuit of a deadly terrorist who is the mastermind behind 52 blasts that rocked Indian cities including Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru. The RAW had named him as India's Osama Bin Laden. Prasanth essays the character named Pillai, an intelligence officer from South India.
Triple treat
Prasanth shot for a day for Madhuraraja before flying to Mumbai to film 'India's Most Wanted'. The film was shot in various locations including Mumbai and Nepal for three months. Meanwhile the filming of Madhuraraja got postponed due to the floods last year. He rejoined the sets of Madhuraja after wrapping up the Bollywood project.
Prashant plays the role of VK Cleetus, a politician, in Madhuraja. The audience loved his character and the way he delivered the dialogues. Amid the joy of Madhuraja opening to a grand response, the first look poster of India's Most Wanted too had come out. For Prasanth, this surely is a triple treat.
Three years with no chance
Prasanth was seen in front of the camera for the first time as the anchor of a TV program called Vaalkannadi. "While acting in Nammal, I didn’t have any dreams or hopes about cinema. I just wanted to act alongside big stars and brag about it to my friends. After that, I did a handful of minor roles in many campus movies," noted Prasanth.
It was in 'Achanurangatha Veedu' directed by Lal Jose that he got a character which offered him scope to perform. Though the movie didn't turn out to be a big hit, Prasant's character got noticed. "It was from then onwards that I began to perceive acting in a more serious way. As I had done extremely well in the movie, I waited, with hope, for lots of opportunities.
However, three years had passed without actually happening anything. I kept doing minor roles, but my career didn't take off. So, I began to think about foraying into other areas like assisting a director or even writing. That is when I was offered the role in 'Best Actor'. My role in Ordinary too was appreciated. But everything soon went back to how it was. I think it was my fault. I haven't approached anyone for opportunities. I believed that opportunities would come my way just because my performances got noticed," explains the actor.
Prasanth did 'Action Hero Biju' when he didn't have many chances in the movies. Though he was just present in three scenes, it was widely appreciated.
That is when he realized the importance of being in touch with everyone. Now, he calls everyone to talk about roles and projects. Prasanth has a couple of amazing projects in his kitty and is acting in a Tamil movie as well.
"I wish to do significant roles in Mollywood which offers great scope for me to perform. When I die, people must say 'Prasanth was a good actor'. I don't want the audience to say that the Malayalam cinema didn't utilize me well", concludes Prasanth.
