Prakash Belawadi on being typecast in films: The industry sees me as…

Theatre and film actor and activist Prakash Belawadi has quite the pan-India presence with his work across languages, but the kind of roles he’s been doing both in and outside of Kannada have given him a certain image, he says. Discussing how audiences, especially those outside of Karnataka view him, on the Just Curious podcast, Prakash cited a recent encounter with a Telugu cab driver in Bengaluru who drove him to the airport and recognised him, but couldn’t immediately place him. Once he heard the actor speak, though, it was a different story.

Prakash Belawadi: I was told I am always in roles where power is operating

“He described the roles I do, having seen the Telugu-dubbed versions of many of my films. And he said, ‘You are always there where there is power. I remember you in roles or situations where power is operating’. I think that is how the cinema industry sees me. If they cast me in a character role, typically it is for roles such as cop, head of organisation, lawyer (very successful or big lawyer), CBI director, etc.,” Prakash explained.

Why did this happen, though? The veteran actor thinks it is because people instinctively judge others in the first few seconds of meeting them. It’s usually in the first three seconds, he says, after which one tends to rationalise what was felt in those initial moments. “There are micro-gestures that are difficult to label, but put together they make some sense when you see someone and you feel that he/she may fit a certain role,” he reasons.

Also read: Prakash Belawadi weighs in on the lack of strong female characters in Kannada cinema 

Is that also how Prakash functions as a filmmaker? “I completely submit myself to that; I don’t find out an actor’s background, or what experience he/she has. If they come for an audition, all I ask is for them to read and I just watch them. That is how I cast,” he says.