Prakash Raj pays honest tribute to Kota Srinivasa Rao; talks about his sarcasm: ‘Not everybody liked him…'
Prakash Raj on Kota Srinivasa Rao
Prakash spoke to the press on Sunday after paying his last respects to Kota. He spoke of how, before he came to the Telugu film industry, he would watch the veteran's films and be inspired by him. 'When I came here, I had the privilege of working with such a unique person in many films,' said Prakash.
He then spoke candidly about Kota's sarcastic and straightforward nature, which did not sit well with everyone. 'Not everybody liked him because he never tried to please anyone. As an actor, he had a clear picture of how to play his character and wanted people to appreciate good cinema. He even fought for the importance of Telugu artists in Tollywood. People thought he was envious of others getting opportunities, but I saw the honesty in his plea.'
Given that Prakash was also at the forefront of this conversation, seeing as how he's from Karnataka, he claimed that Kota defended him when it came down to it. 'Someone once brought me up when he said that, but he defended me, saying I learnt Telugu, so I belonged here. But it's not like I never faced his sarcasm. I took it happily, because he earned the right to do that,' said Prakash.
Prakash also spoke of how Kota experienced a 'lot of pain' in his life, but persevered and never used it for gain. He ended his tribute with, 'Thank you, Kota garu, for everything. We love you, we miss you.'
About Kota Srinivasa Rao
Kota Srinivasa Rao was one of the most notable actors in Telugu cinema and theatre. In his long and illustrious career, he also acted in numerous Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi films. Debuting with Pranam Khareedu in 1978, he played everything from silly characters to chilling villains. His last film will be Krish and Jyothi Krisna's Hari Hara Veera Mallu with Pawan Kalyan, which will be released on 24 July.
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