Mangaluru: Actor Prakash Rai used the Karavali Utsava venue as a platform to reply to Kodagu-Mysuru MP Pratap Simha and other right-wing leaders, who have been targeting him for his controversial remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I have to answer some people now, since I am standing on a platform on my home soil. They are asking me ‘Am I Prakash Rai or Prakash Raj’. They have been accusing me of living with a dual identity. This is the time to answer them. This controversy was triggered by Pratap Simha.

My name is Prakash Rai. My cinema name is Prakash Raj. When you are questioning me for this, can you ask the same question to Rajinikanth? Because his original name is Shivaji Rao Gaekwad. Similarly, Vishnuvardhan’s name was Sampath Kumar and great actor Rajkumar was Mutturaju.

Prakash Rai is the son of Manjunath Rai, who was the son of Koragappa Rai and Nethravati Rai—a couple from Salethur in this region. My relatives are living here. What is your (Pratap Simha) problem if I am a Rai or Raj? I’m a child of this coast and a Kannadiga too.

People of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and north India consider me as their own Prakash Raj. Still I am standing in this land of mine and would like to say that I belong to this place,” Prakash Rai asserted.

He attributed his success to his language, land, literature, and his theatre experience. “First of all, your (Pratap Simha) language is not proper. I speak the language of human beings. His name itself has a Simha (lion) in it. Hence, I should ask him if he is a man or animal? Let us not use such language. I hope those who tried hard to prevent my visit to this festival are satisfied with my answer,” the actor said.