Prakash Raj's wife Pony Varma says Gauri Lankesh's murder devastated actor, motivating him to take a stand despite losing films and ads

Activist, journalist, and Prakash Raj's close friend Gauri Lankesh, was shot to death outside her Bengaluru home in 2017.

Actor Prakash Raj is known for being vocal about his politics both online and in person. The actor’s honesty has often left people with polarising opinions. His wife, choreographer Pony Varma, says his friend, activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder in 2017, devastated Prakash but also motivated him to take a stand. She also revealed that he has lost work because of his honesty, but he refuses to back down.

Reporter-activist Gauri Lankesh and actor Prakash Raj were close friends.

Prakash Raj’s wife says Gauri Lankesh’s murder devastated actor

On Prema’s YouTube channel, Pony was asked if she had never asked Prakash to take a beat with his political opinions, given the kind of polarising response he gets for them. “In the beginning, I used to be very scared. When we heard Gauri’s news, I saw him devastated completely. He was broken and said, ‘I kept telling her.’ How we are scared for Prakash, he was scared for Gauri. When Gauri died, something just shook him completely. He said, I will talk. As a woman, she stood, she spoke,” explained the choreographer. Pony also stated that while she would be scared for their lives, Prakash would ask her how long they must remain afraid.

Outspokenness affecting Prakash Raj’s work

Pony then spoke about times when Prakash was banned from working in various film industries for various reasons. She stated that there were actors close to her who didn’t like him. Calling him brave, she added, “Everybody is comfortable, everybody is shooting, everybody is making money, and everybody wants to be in good books. There are certain actors who don’t need to be scared of not getting work, because of them, others get work. I know how much his work got affected in the industry. The way the ads went off, films were taken away from him. He has suffered immensely in his profession. But he says, my conscience says what is happening is wrong, so I should not accept this.”

Prakash Raj’s friendship with Gauri Lankesh

Prakash and Gauri had been friends for over 35 years before she was shot dead in front of her Bengaluru home in 2017. Paying homage to his friend on X (formerly Twitter), the actor once wrote, “We miss you Gauri .. but “we have not buried you .. we have sowed you”. You are an inspiration .. and yes, we promise .. we will never let your VOICE be missed. #NaanuGauri #GauriLankesh #justasking.” Following her murder, he began a series of posts he titled #JustAsking to demand accountability. Every year on her death anniversary, he uses the tag #NaanuGauri (I am Gauri) to honour her.