Donning the cassock on screen

Actors belong to that tribe that can change personas and slip into a hundred shoes at the drop of a clapper and the shout of ‘action’. Through the many roles they act out, it is rare for reel life to imitate real and when that happens that particular role becomes very close to their hearts, like actor Prashanth Alexander found out to his delight. The upcoming Kunchacko Boban-starrer directed by Marthandan — Johny Johny Yes Appa —  will see Prasanth playing a priest. He excitedly reveals, “My father was a priest in real life. It was my mother’s wish that I follow the same path. Thankfully my father was aware of my interest in the arts and it was his suggestion that I try my luck at joining a film institute.” So now his mother can see her wish being fulfilled, at least on screen, by her son. 

Prasanth stepped into the role when a senior actor opted out and his name was suggested to Marthandan, who okayed it.  He plays no ordinary priest. “He has a personality of his own and a defined character. At the same time, he is also very humorous! I get to play a lengthy role in the film, which is exciting for the actor in me,” he says. Prasanth started off as a TV anchor then got a break in the Kamal-directed Nammal and then went on to do a spate of campus films. As an actor, it was Achanurangatha Veedu that gave him a direction in life. He remembers, “I stopped doing TV programmes and became more serious about films.”

That is how he got small but memorable roles in films like Ordinary, Best Actor, and Oru Murai Vanthu Parthaya and more recently in films like Ira, The Great Father, Kali, Sherlock Toms, Ramleela, etc. It was Action Hero Biju that gave him a new lease on life. He mentions, “After so many films, people have now accepted me as a character actor as well as an actor.” Another film Prasanth is really gung-ho about is the Mammootty-starrer Madhura Raja that came to him after the director was impressed with his performance in Ira, in which he played a character with shades of grey.  Films aside, Prasanth is also busy playing cricket as part of the teams belonging to CCL and C3.