Nothing can stop me

When life knocks you down you have two options whether to stay there or get up. Choosing the latter option Prasanna Kumar, who has lost his right leg in a road accident, turned his passion into the profession by starting his own professional wedding studio in Hyderabad. Apart from photography, he is also a marathon blade runner and brand ambassador of Hyderabad bike riders club called ‘Tashan’. He also believes in staying fit and is a good horse rider. Prasanna also acted in Varun Tej-starrer ‘Supreme’.

Right now he is in pursuit of a good coach, who can train him for the Olympics. Prasanna hails from Hyderabad and completed his MA from St Joseph PG College and he states that while in his graduation he found his calling in photography. “While studying graduation I started exploring places in and around Hyderabad and my passion turned into a business,” he says.

Recalling his unfortunate accident he shares, “It was the time when I was applying for a visa to go to New Zealand for my masters. A jeep hit me from behind and I lost my leg. The people in the jeep were drunk and they had no control on their driving. Post-accident I was in a lot of anguish. I never thought that I would lose a leg or something of this sort would happen to me. I was slipping into depression and was very frustrated about life and things happening around me.”

“To combat depression I joined a gym and channelled my frustration and anger into training. And by the day I was feeling motivated and later I started using a prosthetic leg,” he adds. Prasanna states that the recovery took a very long time, both physically and mentally. He informs that one day out of blue in 2014 people from Ottobock asked him to participate in the 5K marathon. Prasanna says that he was in two minds to participate in the feat, however, in hindsight, he feels that taking this decision changed his life.

“In my first attempt I ran without wearing a splinter and completed it successfully and that changed my life totally. Later, I participated in 4K Dubai marathon and 5km Airtel marathon in 2015. And this time I started using a blade to run and that gave me an extra edge and a positive push to life. Recently, I have participated in Bangalore Military Obstacles and it was 5K run with 20 obstacles. It was one of the best experiences I ever had. I never thought I would run in my life after my freak accident.”

Speaking about his debut film ‘Supreme’ he says, “To begin with, it was one of my dreams to see myself on the silver screen and with this film, it came true. Everyone on the set treated us with the utmost respect. Director Anil Ravipudi’s idea about making a scene with the physically challenged bodybuilders was praiseworthy. No one has ever come up with such a concept.”

About his Olympic dream, he says, “I am searching for a good coach who can take me to echelons in this field. I have the passion and zeal; I just need the right person to guide me. Olympics will be held in 2020, so I have ample time to prepare for the 100M run. The competition is fierce and I am hopeful that I will make my country proud.”

Prasanna says that life is beyond depression and he helps people who did not recover from pain and shock. “After my second surgery, I was in a hospital for a month. There was a patient adjacent to my bed with similar problems and we became friends quickly. I realised that he was still depressed and had not recovered from the shock and pain. I wanted to show him that there is life beyond it. And this inspired me to make my videos and share with people to motivate them.

Prasanna is all set to participate in Wrangler True Wanderer 2017, where every year only a few people are selected and participants have to cover 2,000 kilometres in five days. And recently he rode 1800 kilometres and covered four places in South India. “This will be the longest solo ride of my life. The ride could be around this month or next month, where I will be riding all the way from Delhi to Ladakh (3,000km).”

By Heena Mishra