Tiger Prabhakar is a popular Kannada film actor who acted in the movies between late 70s and late 90s. He started acting in small negative roles, usually one of the villain’s goons who gets beaten up by the protagonist. Tiger had worked his way up to become a lead action hero in the films around the time I had grown to an age when I could see and understand movies. I would be very excited when the Sunday movie on our regional telecast starred him. This was before cable TV. These times were different because we did not have much choice over the content we could watch on the television. A movie or two every week and only during the days that were not close to the exams. There was a pressure to find something you like and enjoy in everything you saw as there weren’t many choices. Going to the cinema was a rare event in most families. It was under these circumstances that I developed my relationship with Tiger. He was an action hero who had a mannerism that was very different from the rest of the lead actors we saw during that time. He used a lot of English in his Kannada dialogues which I later understood was because he was a resident of the cantonment of Bangalore which back then had a thriving Anglo-Indian community. I liked his ease in playing characters and his comic timing. I had happily overlooked a lot of unappealing parts of his movies as I don’t think I wanted to burden myself with those questions at the cost of enjoying the good moments. Moments that came by as chance events. There was one particular film which I had a great time watching. This was a movie in which Tiger was in a double role as father and son and they have a pet elephant. As a Kid it was too amusing to see the elephant performing on screen over critically engaging with the story line. Out of all the actors that I saw during that time, Tiger had occupied a special place. 

Life moved on as cable TV entered our life. This was followed by a series of changes that were quite overwhelming to cope with. Land phones to pagers to mobile phones. Our agency to bunk college and go to a movie of our choice, affordable DVD players, pirated CDs, internet, FM radio and a new lifestyle altogether. We suddenly had access to content from all over the world. We were moving into a different era and people’s tastes were changing and it continues to change at a great pace. 

This has been the story of the past two decades and along with all these changes I have also become very private about my love for Tiger. When I watch his movies as an adult with the many lenses that I have adopted during these two decades, I see a lot of aspects that seem problematic. However it still does not fail to take me back to my days of innocence and to the simple unhurried times. I am still able to feel a sense of affection towards the action hero of my childhood. It is very difficult to explain my admiration for Tiger to a person who is not from a context similar to mine. I am afraid of being judged harshly for my taste. There are many such details of my life that I have moved to a private folder with a strong password as I have found myself in the climate that looks up to a certain narrative that is regarded as sophisticated and evolved. 

Today something strange happened. I was at a traffic signal and I saw in my mirror, an autorickshaw with a portrait of Tiger Prabhakar staring into my soul. It seemed like the auto guy had a greater sense of freedom to own and acknowledge his roots. Taking him as my inspiration I take this opportunity to declare that I am a fan of “Tiger Prabhakar”- Kannada Films will never see another one like you. 

P.S: Do you have a private Tiger? 

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