Prasanna Venkatesan, mononymously credited as Prasanna, is an Indian movie actor who works in the Tamil film industry. He made his debut in the year 2002, with the Mani Ratnam-produced film "Five Star" and has played leading as well as supporting roles since then. He starred in the Tamil film "Achchamundu! Achchamundu!", alongside actress Sneha and American actor John Shea. The film was screened at many International Film Festivals, such as those of Shanghai and Cairo and also garnered Prasanna the Edison Award for Best Character - Male.
Early Life of Prasanna
Prasanna was born on August 28, 1982, to an upper-middle-class Iyer family in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu. His father was an employee in Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and his mother is a housewife. He completed his schooling at BHEL Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Trichy and later attended Saranathan College of Engineering, studying Electrical and Electronics Engineering. Having been interested in cinema since his school days, Prasanna used to perform mimicry and acting in school and college, where he also responded to an open audition for actors, in Susi Ganesan`s project "Five Star" that released in 2002 and featured five newcomers. His parents, though, were unhappy with his decision of pursuing films, wanting him to be an engineer.
Film Career of Prasanna
Prasanna made his film debut in the year 2002 with "Five Star`, produced by Mani Ratnam`s Madras Talkies, featuring alongside four other newcomers, most notably Kanika. The film was well received by critics and performed modestly at the box office. He then made his debut in Telugu Cinema with "Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru!", which released in the same year and was a run away success. His next two Tamil films, "Ragasiyamai", released in 2003 and "Kadhal Dot Com", released in 2004, did not fare well at the box office. After "Five Star", Prasanna"s noteworthy performance came in "Azhagiya Theeye", released in 2004. He cites that the period between "Five Star" and "Azhagiya Theeye" was "a painful one", with the roles that were offered to him were "not the ones" he wanted to play. "Azhagiya Theeye", involving an ensemble cast, was produced by Prakash Raj`s Duet Movies and directed by Radha Mohan. Prasanna"s performance was well-received by critics, who reviewed that he had improved in emoting, while also labelling his "voice modulation in the humorous scenes" as "impressive". 
Prakash Raj was impressed by his performance in the film and offered him the lead character in his next production "Kanda Naal Mudhal" as well. The film, directed by debutante V. Priya, showcased a triangular love story, co-featuring Laila and Karthik Kumar. It released in 2005 and became a commercial success. In 2005, Prasanna also appeared in the film "Kasthuri Maan", directed by Malayalam director A. K. Lohithadas and a remake of his own Malayalam film of the same name. The film had Prasanna featuring alongside National Award winning actress of South Indian cinema Meera Joseph. It won positive reviews from critics. The comedy flick "Cheena Thaana 001", co-starring Sheela and Vadivelu, was Prasanna"s only release in 2007.
In 2008, Prasanna was seen in three films, first starring in Siddique`s comedy thriller "Sadhu Miranda". His subsequent role of a modern-day villain in Mysskin`s film "Anjathe" won rave reviews. His performance of the negative character Deena Dayalan was critically acclaimed and fetched him the Best Villain Award at the International Tamil Film Awards, along a nomination at the 56th Filmfare Awards South, in the Best Supporting Actor category. He next appeared in films "Kannum Kannum", released in the same year and "Manjal Veiyil", released in 2009. In 2009, Prasanna played the lead in Arun Vaidyanathan`s "Achchamundu! Achchamundu!", opposite Sneha. The film dealt with the subject of paedophiles and received rave reviews upon release. It was also very well received internationally, screened at various film festivals, but failed to perform at the domestic box office.
Prasanna was awarded the Edison Award for Best Male Character for "Achchamundu! Achchamundu!". During this period, Prasanna also worked as a voice actor, dubbing for Aryan Rajesh in director Cheran`s "Pokkisham", on the insistence of the director. Then, alongside Sibiraj as the antagonist, he starred in Shakthi S. Rajan`s "Naanayam" as the protagonist.
Prasanna started losing out more offers, being replaced by Vishnu Vishal in Siddharth Chandrasekhar-directed "Bale Pandiya", while also stepping out of a film titled "Naikkutty", produced by V. Z. Durai, for some unknown reasons. He was seen in a cameo appearance in Venkat Prabhu`s comedy film "Goa", followed by a supporting role of a local gangster in "Baana Kaathadi", for which a Times of India review noted "with his eyes-to-die-for and underplayed violence, Prasanna easily steals the show". In 2011, he performed a lead role alongside director-actor Cheran in the thriller film "Muran". His character of a spoiled brat and son of a millionaire again had negative shades. In the recent past, Prasanna has appeared in Tamil films "Chennaiyil Oru Naal" and "Kalyana Samayal Saadham", released in 2013 and "Netru Indru" and "Pulivaal", released in 2014. He also appeared in Telugu film "Bhai" in 2013. His subsequent projects include Tamil action thriller "Nibunan" and drama film "Kaalakkoothu".
Filmography of Prasanna
Prasanna has acted in the following Tamil and Telugu films, highlighted with their years of release.
| Year | Film |
| 2002 | Five Star |
| 2002 | Avunu Valliddaru Ista Paddaru! (Telugu) |
| 2003 | Ragasiyamai |
| 2004 | Kadhal Dot Com |
| 2004 | Azhagiya Theeye |
| 2005 | Kasthuri Maan |
| 2005 | Kanda Naal Mudhal |
| 2007 | Seena Thaana 001 |
| 2008 | Sadhu Miranda |
| 2008 | Anjathe |
| 2008 | Kannum Kannum |
| 2009 | Manjal Veiyil |
| 2009 | Achchamundu! Achchamundu! |
| 2010 | Naanayam |
| 2010 | Goa |
| 2010 | Baana Kaathadi |
| 2011 | Muran |
| 2013 | Chennaiyil Oru Naal |
| 2013 | Bhai (Telugu) |
| 2013 | Kalyana Samayal Saadham |
| 2014 | Pulivaal |
| 2014 | Netru Indru |