Actor Prashanth interview: On ‘Andhagan,’ ‘GOAT’ and why Vijay is like a brother to him

Tamil actor Prashanth is back in the limelight with Andhagan and Vijay’s GOAT, and is looking to entertain audiences

Around 30 years ago, the Prashanth household gathered at the main hall in their T Nagar bungalow. Prashanth had just written his medical exams and was set to become a doctor, something that his family desperately wanted.

However, there was a catch: film directors were waiting with scripts, in which they wanted to cast Prashanth.

“I still remember that day because it felt like a board meeting. It happened right here,” says the actor, at Prashanth Gold Tower, now a popular landmark in Chennai. Recalling that day in the early Nineties when he was still an adolescent, he says, “We discussed my future and decided that I would do one film. If it became a hit, I would become an actor. If it failed, I would study to become a doctor.”

What came in handy were all the co-curricular activities that he was exposed to: Prashanth was already adept at playing the piano, riding a horse, playing table tennis and performing a variety of martial arts.

His first film, Vaigasi Poranthachu releasedin 1990 to much fanfare and even before that hit screens, legendary Malayalam writer-director MT Vasudevan Nair had spotted Prashanth and cast him in Perumthachan. He subsequently did a Hindi and a Telugu film. “No other actor in India would have dreamt of such a start to his career,” beams Prashanth.

Three decades later, Prashanth, now christened ‘Top Star’ by Tamil cinema fans, is still living his dream. This August 15, his Andhagan — the Tamil remake of Hindi hit Andhadhun —hits screens, and later this year, he will be seen in Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time in a supporting role.

Andhagan has been long in the making, but Prashanth is upbeat about its appeal. “The movie has elements of dark comedy and surreal cleverness in how each character evolves. It’s like a maze. For the Tamil version, we have made it larger than life and we’re looking forward to audiences watching it in Tamil,” he says about the film that boasts a star-studded cast including Priya Anand, Simran, Karthik and Oorvasi among others.