Look up ABN in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

ABN or abn is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:

• IATA airport code for Albina Airport in Albina, Suriname
• ABN AMRO, sometimes referred to as "ABN" in shorthand
• ABN AMRO Group
• ABN Andhra Jyothi, a Telugu language news channel based in India
• ABN Radio, the Agri Broadcast Network, an Ohio-based agricultural radio news network
• ABN (TV station), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Sydney TV station
• Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias, the national news agency of Venezuela
• Alaska Board of Nursing, the regional board of nurses in the state of Alaska, USA
• Alcock Brown-Neaves Group, Australian property development company
• Algemeen Beschaafd Nederlands (Common Civilized Dutch), the near-obsolete name for now "Common Dutch"
• Algemene Bank Nederland, a now-defunct Dutch bank
• Asahi Broadcasting Nagano, a TV station in Nagano Prefecture, Japan
• Asia Business News a now-defunct business news channel
• Assholes by Nature, an album & rap duo by rappers Trae & Z-Ro
• Assumed Business Name, in Oregon corporation law (aka "doing business as" elsewhere in the US)
• Australian Business Number, a unique identifier issued to business entities by the Australian Taxation Office
• Niger Basin Authority (Authorité du Bassin du Niger), an intergovernmental organisation in West Africa
• Avivamiento Broadcasting Network, a religious local TV station in Bogotá, Colombia

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Prakash Raj
Born	Prakash Rai (1965-03-26) 26 March 1965 (age 47) Puttur, Karnataka, India
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Film actor, producer, Film director
Years active	1986–present
Spouse	Lalitha Kumari (1994–2009 divorced) Pony Verma (2010–present)
Children	Meghana Pooja Sidhu (2000 – 20 March 2004)[1]

Prakash Rai (born 26 March 1965), better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning film actor, director and producer who has worked in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam films.He got introduced to films by K. Balachander in the movie Duet (1994). In remembrance, he named his production company "Duet Movies".^[2][3]

He has played a variety of roles, most notably as the antagonist in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil and of late, as a character actor. He is considered to be one amongst the club of natural actors. He has won a National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1998 for Mani Ratnam's Iruvar and a National Film Award for Best Actor in 2009 for his role in Kanchivaram, a Tamil film directed by Priyadarshan.^[4]

Early life[link]

Prakash Raj was born to a ethnic Bunt^[5] family in Puttur, Karnataka on 26 March 1965. He did his schooling from St.Joseph's Indian High School in Bangalore. He later joined St. Josephs College of commerce, Bangalore, where he participated in many plays.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Prakash married actress Lalitha Kumari in 1994. They have two daughters—Meghana and Pooja and a son, Sidhu.^[6] Sidhu died of injuries sustained in a fall in 2004. The couple divorced in 2009.^[7] He then married choreographer Pony Verma on August 24, 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

As actor[link]

Prakash began his acting career with Kannada Doordarshan serials like Bisilu Kudure and Guddada Bhootha. He later took up supporting roles in Kannada films like Raamachari, Nishkarsha and Lockup Death. He was noticed for his dialogue delivery and histrionics. His breakthrough role came in form of Harakeya Kuri starring Vishnuvardhan and Geetha, directed by K. S. L. Swamy. His performance in the movie was noticed by Geetha and she, in turn, introduced him to her mentor K. Balachander, a Tamil film director. He acted under the screen name "Prakash Rai" in Kannada films and was rechristened "Prakash Raj" by K. Balachander for his debut Tamil film Duet, which saw him playing his first major role.

Prakash Raj re-entered Kannada films through Nagamandala in 1997, directed by T.S. Nagabharana which was selected for Indian Panorama in the International Film Festival in 1997. He was also a part of Mani Ratnam's stage show, Netru, Indru, Naalai. In 1997, he acted in Mani Ratnam's biopic film Iruvar. The movie dealt with the relationship between politicians M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, for which he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. One of Prakash Raj's greatest hits was his role in Telugu film Okkadu, where he played a gangster who is in love with the heroine. After Okkadu, Prakash Raj was flooded with offers. The film was remade in Tamil as Ghilli and in Kannada as Ajay starring Puneet Rajkumar. He starred in a malayalam film, Pandippada,with Dilip.His 2007 production Mozhi was a box-office hit and praised by critics proving that he can play a comedy role just as good as a negative character.

Mozhi, directed by Radha Mohan, was well acclaimed. He played an important role in Venkat Prabhu's Saroja which became a box-office success. In 2008 he produced a film titled Abhiyum Naanum and played an important character in it. He remade the movie in Kannada as Naanu Nanna Kanasu which was critically acclaimed as well.

As producer[link]

He took on the mantle of producer and has produced several movies in Tamil (Kollywood). Most of the movies he produced turned out to be box-office hits and were also critically acclaimed.^{[citation needed]} His movies are also considered as family entertainers. He produced the movie Dhaya in which he acted as the hero with actress Meena which was a hit and earned him a special jury award for his performance. His movie Poi (lie in English) directed by his mentor, K. Balachander, was a non-grosser. It starred Uday Kiran, K. Balachander and Prakash Raj.

Prakash Raj had danced in the song "Kanchi Paanaiyin Maela" for his film Vellithirai.

His Kannada production Naanu Nanna Kanasu completed 100 days successfully across Karanataka. His next production venture, titled Akasmaath, is a remake of the Telugu hit Aithe and stars himself along with new actors. The movie is scheduled to go on floors in September 2010 to be directed by Dayal Padmanabhan. He made Puttakkana Highway in Kannada which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Kannada in 2011.

As director[link]

Prakash Raj directed Naanu Nanna Kanasu in Kannada (2010), a remake of his own Tamil production Abhiyum Naanum.^[8] His next directorial venture is a Tamil – Telugu bilingual, sports venture Dhoni named after Indian cricket captain

Awards[link]

National Film Awards[link]

• 1998 – Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Iruvar.^[9][10]
• 1999 – Special Jury Award for his performance in the Telugu film Anthapuram.^[10]
• 2003 – Special Jury Award for his roles in Tamil film Dhaya and Telugu film Khadgam.^[10]
• 2008 – Best Actor Award for his performance in the Tamil film Kanchivaram.^[10]
• 2011 – Best Feature Film in Kannada for the Kannada film Puttakkana Highway (As producer)

Filmfare Awards South[link]

• 2002 – Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) – Nuvve Nuvve
• 2003 - Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award (Telugu) – Tagore
• 2004 – Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) – Ghilli
• 2005 – Filmfare Best Villain Award (Tamil) – Sivakasi
• 2009 – Filmfare Best Actor Award (Tamil) – Kanchivaram

Tamil Nadu State Film Awards[link]

• 2000 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain – Vaanavil
• 2005 – Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain – Various films

Zee Cine Awards[link]

• 2012 – Best Actor in a Negative Role- Singham

Apsara Awards 2012[link]

• 2012 – Best Actor in Negative Role- Singham

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Prakash Raj at the Internet Movie Database

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Prakash Raj

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2012)

"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.

The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.^[1]

History[link]

The earliest recorded use^{[citation needed]} of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Dutch governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man." ^{[2][dubious – discuss]} In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.

It was also used as a term for a drug dealer in the 1950s and 1960s and can be seen in such media as Curtis Mayfield's "No Thing On Me", William Burroughs's novel Naked Lunch, and in the Velvet Underground song "I'm Waiting for the Man", in which Lou Reed sings about going to Uptown Manhattan, specifically Lexington Avenue and 125th Street, to buy heroin.

The use of this term was expanded to counterculture groups and their battles against authority, such as the Yippies, which, according to a May 19, 1969 article in U.S. News and World Report, had the "avowed aim ... to destroy 'The Man', their term for the present system of government". The term eventually found its way into humorous usage, such as in a December 1979 motorcycle ad from the magazine Easyriders which featured the tagline, "California residents: Add 6% sales tax for The Man."

In present day, the phrase has been popularized in commercials and cinema, featuring particularly prominently as a recurring motif in the 2003 film School of Rock.^[3][4][5][6]

Use as praise[link]

The term has also been used as an approbation or form of praise. This may refer to the recipient's status as the leader or authority within a particular context, or it might be assumed to be a shortened form of a phrase like "He is the man (who is in charge)." One example of this usage dates to 1879 when Otto von Bismarck commented, referring to Benjamin Disraeli's pre-eminent position at the Congress of Berlin, "The old Jew, he is the man."^{[7][dubious – discuss]}

In more modern usage, it can be a superlative compliment ("you da man!") indicating that the subject is currently standing out amongst his peers even though they have no special designation or rank, such as a basketball player who is performing better than the other players on the court. It can also be used as a genuine compliment with an implied, slightly exaggerated or sarcastic tone, usually indicating that the person has indeed impressed the speaker but by doing something relatively trivial.

See also[link]

• Absentee landlord
• Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four)
• New World Order (conspiracy theory)
• Ruling class
• The Establishment
• Power elite
• Corrections officer
• YTMND

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Lighter, J.E. (Ed.). (1997). Random House Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Random House.