Prasanna (actor)

Prasanna Venkatesan, often credited mononymously as Prasanna, is an Indian actor in the Tamil film industry.

Prasanna
Born	Prasanna Venkatesan 28 August 1982 Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Actor, Television host
Years active	2002—present
Spouse(s)	Sneha ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2

He made his first success in Five Star in 2002, which was produced by Mani Ratnam. Apart from lead roles, he has also played supporting roles. His film Achchamundu! Achchamundu!, in which he starred alongside Sneha and American actor John Shea, was screened at many International film festivals, such as Shanghai and Cairo International Film Festival.[1][2]

Early life and background

Prasanna was born in Tiruchirappalli. His father was an employee in BHEL and his mother is a homemaker. He completed his schooling from BHEL Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Tiruchirappalli. He has a younger brother. Prasanna was good at mimicry and acting, when he was in school and college. He had stated that he always wanted to become an actor.[3] He was an EEE student in Saranathan College of Engineering, Tiruchirapalli, when he responded to an open audition for actors in Susi Ganesan's Five Star (2002),[4] although his parents were unhappy with his decision.[3]

Film career

Five Star, produced by Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies, featured Prasanna alongside four other newcomers, most notably Kanika; it was well received by critics and performed modestly at the box office. His next two films Ragasiyamai (2003) and Kadhal Dot Com (2004), did not fare well commercially. After Five Star, his noteworthy performance came in Azhagiya Theeye (2004). He cites that the time between Five Star and Azhagiya Theeye was "a painful one", since the roles offered to him were "not the ones" he wanted to play.[3] The film, involving an ensemble cast, was produced by Prakash Raj's Duet Movies and directed by Radha Mohan. Critics commented that he had improved in emoting,[5] labelling his "voice modulation in the humorous scenes" as "impressive".[6] Prakash Raj, impressed by his performance in the film, offered him the lead character in his next production Kanda Naal Mudhal, too.[3] The triangular love story, directed by the newcomer V. Priya, costarring Laila and Karthik Kumar was a commercial success. The film ran for one-hundred days.[7] The comedy flick Cheena Thaana 001, co-starring Sheela and Vadivelu was his only 2007 release.

In 2008, Prasanna was seen in three films. He starred in Siddique's comedy thriller Sadhu Miranda. His role of a modern-day villain was a huge hit in Mysskin's film Anjathe (2008). His negative role was critically acclaimed and fetched him a nomination at the 56th Filmfare Awards South in the Best Supporting Actor category. Later that year, he starred in G. Marimuthu's Kannum Kannum. Regarding his performance, a critic noted that "Prasanna oozes sincerity and his ability to bring the Sathya and Murthy character to life with all the nuances of love, tenderness, humour and frustrations is one of the highlights of the film".[8] He played the lead in Arun Vaidyanathan's Achchamundu! Achchamundu! (2009) opposite Sneha that dealt with the subject of paedophiles. It received rave reviews,[9][10] and was very well received internationally,[11] but failed at the domestic box office. Manjal Veyil also failed to be successful.[12] During the period, he also worked as a voice actor, speaking dubbing for Aryan Rajesh in Cheran's Pokkisham on the insistence of the director.[13] Then, alongside Sibiraj as antagonist, he starred in Shakthi Soundar Rajan's Naanayam as a protagonist produced by S.P.B. Charan's Capital Film Works.

In Bale Pandiya, directed by Siddharth Chandrasekhar, Prasanna was replaced by Vishnu Vishal.[14] He was seen in a supporting role as a local gangster in Baana Kaathadi. A review from Times of India wrote that "with his eyes-to-die-for and underplayed violence, Prasanna easily steals the show".[15] In 2011, he performed a lead role alongside director-actor Cheran in the thriller film Muran. His character, a "spoiled brat" and son of a millionaire, again had negative shades.[13][16] He was also approached for Lucky Jokers, which he could not take due to his busy schedule with Muran. He has been approached to play a vital role in the Malayalam Vellaripravinte Changathi, but eventually did not star in the film.[17] In 2013, he played a doctor in the Chennaiyil Oru Naal, a remake of the Malayalam film Traffic (2011).[18] The film featured an ensemble cast and released to positive reviews.[18] That same year, he made his Telugu debut with Bhai and starred in the successful romantic comedy Kalyana Samayal Saadham.[19][20] Regarding his performance, a critic stated that "Prasanna deserves special credit for playing a role that most actors would hesitate to take up".[21]

2014 saw the release of Pulivaal and the long delayed Netru Indru; both films featured himself and Vimal in the lead. The former was directed by Marimuthu and was based on the Malayalam film Chaappa Kurishu (2011).[22] While Pulivaal released to positive reviews, Netru Indru released to negative reviews.[23][24] His subsequent films released to positive reviews: Pa Paandi,[25] Nibunan,[26] Thupparivaalan,[27] and Thiruttu Payale 2.[28] His performance in Thirittu Payale 2 fetched him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil.[29] He returned to Telugu cinema with Jawaan, which featured him as the antagonist and released to negative reviews.[30] In 2018, he starred in Kaalakkoothu; he was cast after Shaam left the film.[31] The film recevived mixed reviews upon release.[32] In 2019, he starred in the Telugu film Viswamitra and made his Malayalam debut with Brother's Day.[33] Brothers Day released to mixed reviews.[34] In 2020, he starred in Mafia: Chapter 1, which received mixed reviews upon release.[35] As of 2020, his upcoming ventures include Naanga Romba Busy and Thupparivaalan 2.[7][36]

Personal life

During the filming of Achchamundu! Achchamundu! it was reported he and Sneha fell in love, but he denied that he had any idea in marrying an actress.[37]

Prasanna eventually married actress Sneha on 11 May 2012.[38][39][40] His son Vihaan was born on 10 August 2015 and his daughter was born on 24 January 2020.[41][42]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Language	Notes
2002	Five Star	Prabhu	Tamil
2003	Ragasiyamai	Amudhan
2004	Kadhal Dot Com	Vinod
	Azhagiya Theeye	Chandran
2005	Kasthuri Maan	Arunachalam
	Kanda Naal Mudhal	Krishna
2007	Cheena Thaana 001	Tamilarasu
2008	Sadhu Miranda	Sundaramoorthy
	Anjathe	Dhaya		ITFA Best Villain Award Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
	Kannum Kannum	Sathyamoorthy
2009	Manjal Veiyil	Vijay
	Achchamundu! Achchamundu!	Senthil Kumar		Edison Award for Best Character (Male) Tamil Nadu State Film Award Special Prize
2010	Naanayam	Ravi Bhaskar
	Goa	Sakthi Saravanan		Guest appearance
	Baana Kaathadi	'Maanja' Ravi		Guest appearance
2011	Muran	Arjun
2013	Chennaiyil Oru Naal	Robin
	Bhai	Arjun	Telugu
	Kalyana Samayal Saadham	Raghu Viswanathan	Tamil	Also singer for "Pallu Pona Raja"
2014	Pulivaal	Karthik
	Netru Indru	David
2015	JK Enum Nanbanin Vaazhkai	Himself		Cameo appearances
2016	Rajadhi Raja		Telugu
2017	Mupparimanam		Tamil
	Pa Paandi	Raghavan
	Nibunan	Joseph
	Vismaya		Kannada
	Thupparivaalan	Manohar	Tamil
	Thiruttu Payale 2	Balakrishnan (Balki)		25th film Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor – Tamil
	Jawaan	Keshava	Telugu
2018	Kaalakkoothu	Easwaran	Tamil
2019	Viswamitra	Gopal	Telugu
	Brother's Day	Shiva	Malayalam
2020	Mafia: Chapter 1	Diwakar	Tamil
	Naanga Romba Busy	Kumaravel		Television film
	Thupparivaalan 2	Manohar		Filming

As a dubbing artist

• Pokkisham (2009) for Aryan Rajesh
• Raavanan (2010) for Ashwanth Thilak

Television

Year	Show	Role	Language	Channel
2010	Honeymoon Jodigal	Host	Tamil	Sun TV
2018	Soppana Sundari	Host	Tamil	Sun Life
2020	Addham		Telugu	Aha

References

1. Achchamundu Achchamundu screened at International film festivals Archived 11 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine Jointscene. Retrieved on 29 March 2011.
2. "News". IndiaGlitz.com. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
3. "Meet Prasanna of Tamil films". Rediff.com. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
4. Prasanna Interview Indiaglitz. Retrieved on 29 March 2011.
5. "Movie Review:Azhagiya Theeye". Sify.com. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
6. "Azhagiya Theeyae ..." The Hindu. 6 August 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
7. S, Srivatsan (19 February 2020). "I was devastated when Mysskin called me a 'sidekick': Prasanna on playing 'second-hero' roles, and his upcoming 'Mafia'". The Hindu.
8. "Kannum Kannum". Sify.
9. "Achchamundu Achchamundu movie review". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
10. "Achchamundu Achchamundu". Behindwoods.com. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
11. Rediff interview Rediff. Retrieved on 29 March 2011.
12. Ridden with badluck Archived 24 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Jointscene. Retrieved on 29 March 2011.
13. "I felt Muran was like my own production". Rediff.com. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
14. "Prasanna joins Siddharth - Behindwoods.com - Bale Pandiya Prasanna Siddharth Chandrasekhar". www.behindwoods.com.
15. "Baana Kaathadi". The Times of India. 7 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
16. "How Prasanna became Arjun in 'Muran' – Tamil Movie News". IndiaGlitz. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
17. "Prasanna in Malayalam?". TimesofIndia. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
18. "Tamil review: 'Chennaiyil Oru Naal' is a gripping thriller". News18.
19. "Prasanna excited about Telugu debut". The New Indian Express.
20. "Kalayana Samayal Saadham movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at". The Times of India. 7 December 2013.
21. "Review: Kalyana Samayal Saadham is funny and thought provoking". Rediff. 7 December 2013.
22. "'Puli Vaal' not exactly a remake". The New Indian Express.
23. "Pulivaal: Tiger by the tail". The Hindu. 8 February 2014.
24. "Netru Indru Movie Review {1.5/5}: Critic Review of Netru Indru by Times of India". The Times of India.
25. "Pa. Paandi Review {3.5/5}: Power Paandi is a heartwarming film that, despite its conventional storytelling, packs in a huge emotional wallop". The Times of India.
26. Subramanian, Anupama (28 July 2017). "Nibunan review: A fast-paced thriller that will keep you engrossed!". Deccan Chronicle.
27. Menon, Vishal (14 September 2017). "'Thupparivaalan' review: The adventure of an eccentric bachelor". The Hindu.
28. "'Thiruttu Payale 2' review: A decent, even if not darker, follow-up". The New Indian Express.
29. Saravanan, T. (6 October 2017). "Actor of many parts". The Hindu.
30. "Jawaan Review {2.2/5}: You can go watch this movie if you're a Sai Dharam Tej fan. Steer clear of it otherwise!". The Times of India.
31. "Prasanna replaces Shaam in 'Kaala Koothu' - Times of India". The Times of India.
32. Subramanian, Anupama (26 May 2018). "Kaalakkoothu movie review: Mismatch of worthy performers against clichéd script". Deccan Chronicle.
33. "Actor Prasanna reveals why his Mollywood debut was delayed". The News Minute. 24 August 2019.
34. "Brother's Day Movie Review: Too many twists in Prithviraj's suspense thriller". The Times of India.
35. "Mafia Review {3/5}: The way 'Mafia: Chapter 1' ends makes us eagerly wait for the next chapter". The Times of India.
36. "Now, there's a conscious effort to make safety a priority on movie sets: Prasanna - Times of India". The Times of India.
37. I will not marry an actress Jointscene. Retrieved on 29 March 2011. Archived 18 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine
38. "Sneha to wed actor Prasanna!". Behindwoods. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
39. "Prasanna out public about his relationship with Sneha!". Sify. Archived from the original on 12 November 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
40. "Sneha to marry Prasanna!". Indiaglitz. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
41. subramanian, anupama (12 August 2015). "Baby boy for Sneha, Prasanna". Deccan Chronicle.
42. "Sneha reveals her baby girl's pictures for the first time - Times of India". The Times of India.

External links

• Prasanna at IMDb