Prem Kumar (born 18 April 1976), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Prem, also popularly called as Nenapirali Prem, is an Indian actor and producer who works in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

films. He made his acting debut through the film ''Praana'' (2004). However, his major break came through the film '' Nenapirali'' (2005) for which he won his first

Filmfare Award for Best Actor The Filmfare Award for Best Actor is an award, begun in 1954, presented annually at the Filmfare Awards to an actor via a jury. This is given by '' Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi (Bollywood) films. The award was firs ...

. Since then, Prem is largely offered films with romantic theme thereby, earning the title ''Lovely Star'' in Kannada cinema. Prem also produced the film ''

Pallakki ''Pallakki'' is a 2007 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film directed by K. Narendra Babu and written by Paramesh. The film stars Prem Kumar and newcomer Ramnitu Chaudhary. The film was produced by P2 Productions. The film released on 4 ...

'' (2007) besides acting in the lead role. Prem's other notable films include '' Jothe Jotheyali'' (2006), ''

'' (2007), ''

Gunavantha ''Gunavantha'' is a 2007 Kannada romance film directed by Raghuvardhan and starring Prem Kumar and Rekha Vedavyas in the lead roles with Sharan and Rangayana Raghu in other pivotal roles. The film had musical score and lyrics written by Hamsale ...

'' (2007), '' Savi Savi Nenapu'' (2010) , ''

Charminar The Charminar () is a mosque and monument located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Constructed in 1591, the landmark is a symbol of Hyderabad and officially incorporated in the emblem of Telangana The Charminar's long history includes the existe ...

'' (2013), for which he won his second Filmfare award, ''

Chowka ''Chowka'' is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language action drama film directed by Tharun Sudhir, making his debut, and produced by Dwarakish, marking his 50th production film. It features an ensemble cast of Vijay Raghavendra, Prem Kumar, Digant ...

'' (2017) and '' Premam Poojyam'' (2021), which marks his 25th film as an actor.

Career

Prem debuted in film with the 2004

Kannada film Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film '' Sati Sulochana'' directe ...

''Praana''. It was by a team of newcomers: director Prakash, composer Allwyn and the actress Preeti were all new besides Prem. The next year, Prem acted in Rathnaja's debut film, '' Nenapirali''. Prem picked up a Best Actor Filmfare Award for his performance in the film. In 2006, Prem released '' Jothe Jotheyali'' with the actress

Ramya Ramya (Sanskrit: रम्य) is a Sanskrit female given name, which means "pleasant" and "delightful". Notable people * Ramya (born 1982), Indian actress and politician * Ramya Barna (born 1986), Indian actress * Ramya Krishnan (born 1970), ...

. His next release ''

'' did well for 100 days. In 2008, Prem teamed up with Rathnaja once more for the film ''

Honganasu ''Honganasu'' is a 2008 Indian Kannada-language romance film written and directed by Ratnaja of '' Nenapirali'' fame. The film stars Prem Kumar in lead role whereas debutant Anjali and Anuradha Mehta play the female leads. Ananth Nag plays a ...

''. Prem acted in ''

Ghauttham ''Ghauttham'' is a 2009 Kannada romance film directed by K. Rajeev Prasad and starring Prem and Sarah in the lead roles with Kokila Mohan, Sudharani and Ananth Nag in other pivotal roles. The film is a remake of the Tamil family drama '' Aahaa ...

'', a remake of the Tamil film '' Aahaa..!'' in 2009. In 2010, he teamed up with heroine

for the film '' Jothegara''. Other films which he signed are ''Sihi Muttu'', alongside

Dhyan Sameer Dattani, also known as Dhyan (in the Kannada film industry), is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi and Kannada films. Career Born into a Gujarati family in Bombay, Dattani has worked in Hindi, Kannada, and Tamil cinema, He is fluent ...

and Pooja Chopra, ''Januma Janumadallu'' with

Andrita Ray Aindrita Ray (born 3 March 1985) is an Indian actress, primarily appearing in Kannada films. She made her acting debut in 2007, starring in ''Meravanige'' and went on to appear in several commercially successful films, establishing herself as a ...

, a cameo in

Shivarajkumar Nagaraju Shiva Puttaswamy (born 12 July 1962) known by his screen name Shiva Rajkumar, is an Indian actor, producer and television presenter, predominantly works in Kannada cinema.

's travel extravaganza ''

Cheluveye Ninne Nodalu ''Cheluveye Ninne Nodalu'' is a 2010 Indian Kannada-language film written and directed by D. P. Raghuram. It stars Shiva Rajkumar and Sonal Chauhan. The film was notable in that it had scenes shot in the seven wonders of the world. Cast * Shiva ...

'' and also in ''

Eradane Maduve ''Eradane Maduve'' () is a 2010 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed by Dinesh Baboo starring Ananth Nag, Suhasini Maniratnam, Tara and Jennifer Kotwal. The film was remade in Telugu in 2011 as '' Bhale Mogudu Bhale Pellam'' starring R ...

''. Prem began his 2011 career with a cameo appearance in the multi-starrer film ''

'', which had

Ananth Nag Dr Anant Nagarkatte (born 4 September 1948) is an Indian actor whose predominant contribution has been in Kannada cinema. He has acted in over 300 films which include over 200 Kannada films as well as Hindi, Telugu, Marathi, Malayalam and En ...

and

Suhasini Suhasini Maniratnam (born 15 August 1961) known mononymously as Suhasini, is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her ...

in the main lead. Later he starred in ''

I Am Sorry Mathe Banni Preethsona ''I Am Sorry Mathe Banni Preethsona'' is a 2011 Kannada language romance film directed by Ravindra H P Das . It stars Prem Kumar and Karishma Tanna in lead roles. The music is composed by Anoop Seelin . Vinay Narkar has jointly produced the f ...

'', a film which made news for its controversial kiss scene between the lead pair. The other film of the year was ''

Dhan Dhana Dhan ''Dhan Dhana Dhan'' is a 2011 Kannada film in the romance genre starring Prem Kumar and Sharmila Mandre. The film is directed by Ramnath Rigvedi. K. Sai Karthik is the music director of the film. Santhosh Singh has jointly produced the film with ...

'' opposite

Sharmila Mandre Sharmiela Mandre (born 28 October 1990) is an Indian actress and producer. She is well known for her works predominantly in Kannada cinema. Career Mandre was the third generation of a family with film connections. Her grandfather R. N. Mandre ...

, which also failed to get the box office collections. In 2013, he acted in director

Roopa Iyer Roopa Iyer is a film director and actor. Career She played the lead actress in the movie "Daatu". She directed and wrote the movie '' Mukhaputa''. In 2013, she directed & produced her bilingual big budget film ''Chandra'' in Kannada and Tamil. ...

's ''

Chandra Chandra ( sa, चन्द्र, Candra, shining' or 'moon), also known as Soma ( sa, सोम), is the Hindu god of the Moon, and is associated with the night, plants and vegetation. He is one of the Navagraha (nine planets of Hinduism) a ...

''. While the Kannada version got a good opening, the Tamil version failed to open even at the box office. This was followed by R. Chandru's ''

'' which found success and his performance was talked about with IBNLive.com praising him that "this" could well be considered his best film. He got his second Filmfare Best Actor award for this film. His next release was the two-year-old long pending project '' Shatru'', which featured him in the role of a police officer for the first time. Though he got favorable reviews for his performance, the film failed at the box office. His other long pending projects like ''Shatru'' and ''Athi Aparoopa'' released to a cold response at the box office in 2014. However, his other 2014 release '' Fair & Lovely'' with director Raghuram performed extremely well at the box office and earned him many accolades and awards. In 2015, Prem re-associated with R. Chandru through the film ''

Male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

'' opposite Amulya. The film met with average response both critically and commercially. His next release was a cameo appearance in the all-women crew film '' Ring Road'' followed by a lead role in a romantic film ''

Mast Mohabbat Mast, MAST or MASt may refer to: Engineering * Mast (sailing), a vertical spar on a sailing ship * Flagmast, a pole for flying a flag * Guyed mast, a structure supported by guy-wires * Mooring mast, a structure for docking an airship * Radio mas ...

'' in 2016. In 2017, Prem starred as one of the jail inmates in the

Dwarakish Bungle Shama Rao Dwarakanath (born 19 August 1942), better known as Dwarakish ( ), is an Indian actor, director and producer in the Kannada film industry. He was given the name Dwarakish by Kannada film maker C. V. Shivashankar. Early life D ...

's 50th production multistarrer film ''

'', which went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year. In 2014, he reported that he would appear in

Prashant Raj Prashant Raj (born 10 March 1982 in Bangalore) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his work in Kannada cinema. He made his directorial debut with ''Love Guru Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotion ...

's ''Dalapathi''. Also in the making is director Dinakar Thoogudeepa's ''Life Jothe Ondu Selfie'' co-starring

Prajwal Devaraj Prajwal Devaraj (born 4 July 1987) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Kannada cinema. He made his debut with the Kannada film '' Sixer'' (2007) for which he won the Best Debut actor award at the Suvarna Film Awards. This was followed by th ...

and

Hariprriya Shruthi Chandrasena, known professionally as Haripriya, is an Indian actress and model who chiefly works in Kannada films, in addition to a few Tamil and Telugu films. Haripriya is currently engaged to Kannada actor Vasista.N. Simha. Early li ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * http://entertainment.oneindia.in/kannada/news/2011/lovely-star-premkumar-action-hero-shatru-220711-aid0062.html * http://entertainment.oneindia.in/kannada/news/2010/prem-launches-website-190110.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumar, Prem Male actors in Kannada cinema Living people Filmfare Awards South winners Indian male film actors Kannada people 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors from Mysore 1976 births