Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and

actor,[3] who has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu language films. In a career

spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed a wide range of dancing styles and has
garnered two National Film Awards for Best Choreography. In 2019, he was awarded the Padma
Shri for his contributions to dance.[4]
Beginning with a series of acting roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, Prabhu Deva featured in
several commercially successful films including Kadhalan (1994), Love Birds (1996), Minsara
Kanavu (1997) and VIP (1997). After further critically acclaimed performances in the
comedy Kaathala Kaathala (1998), the family drama Vanathai Pola (2000), and the romantic
dramas Pennin Manathai Thottu(2000) and Alli Thandha Vaanam (2001). Deva then failed to
recreate the success of his earlier films and his box office value began to decline and he
subsequently made appearances in supporting roles in Tamil. He then successfully ventured into
direction with the 2005 Telugu film Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, and the success of the project
prompted further offers for Deva as a director. He then went on to make highly profitable films in
Tamil, Telugu and Hindi languages such as Pokkiri (2007), Shankar Dada
Zindabad (2007), Wanted(2009), Rowdy Rathore (2012), R... Rajkumar (2013) and Singh is
Bling (2015).[5]

Contents

 1Early life and career

 2Acting career
o 2.11993–2004
o 2.22005–2011
o 2.32016–present
 3Personal life
 4Other appearances
 5Soramimi spoof
 6Filmography
 7Awards and nominations
o 7.1Civilian Awards
 8References
 9External links

Early life and career[edit]

Prabhu Deva was born in Mysore of present-day Karnataka state on 3 April 1973 to Mugur
Sundar and Mahadevamma Sundar. Inspired by his father Mugur Sundar, a choreographer for South
Indian movies, he took up dancing, learning Indian classical dance forms such
as Bharatanatyam from Dharmaraj and Udupi Lakshminarayanan[6] as well as Western styles. Raju
Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are his brothers.
Deva first appeared as a boy playing a flute in the song "Panivizhum Iravu", from the Tamil
film Mouna Ragam (1986).[7][8] He later appeared as a background dancer for a song in the
1988 Tamil film Agni Natchathiram. Deva's first venture as a choreographer was the Kamal Haasan
starrer Vetri Vizha (1989).[9] He has since then choreographed for over 100 movies. From
choreography, he went into acting. In 1999, Deva, Shobhana and A. R. Rahman performed with a
Tamil cinema dancing troupe at the "MJ & Friends" Michael Jackson tribute concert
in Munich, Germany. As of 2010, he serves as chairman and director of the Prabhu Deva's Dance
Academy in Singapore.[10] He planned to release his first video album called It is boring in 2013.[11]

Acting career[edit]
1993–2004[edit]
After a series of cameo appearances in songs from Tamil films, Prabhu Deva was given his first lead
role by director Pavithran in the romantic drama film Indhu (1994). Appearing alongside
actress Roja and Sarathkumar, Deva's ability to dance was fully utilised in the song sequences,
with gaana and disco music thereafter being regularly featured in his films. He made his
breakthrough as an actor with Shankar's sophomore film, the romantic drama Kadhalan (1994),
where he portrayed a young student who first stands up against his lover's father and then an
international terrorist.[9] The film was highly lauded for its technical prowess and went on to win
four National Film Awards, while A. R. Rahman's songs and Deva's choreography, especially in the
songs "Mukkabla" and "Urvasi Urvasi", became very popular across India.[12] Despite starring relative
newcomers, the film went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film of 1994 and the commercial
success made Deva a bankable actor.[13] The film also saw success through its dubbed Telugu and
Hindi versions, creating a market for Deva in other Indian regional industries. While his next
project Raasaiyya (1995) garnered poor reviews and collections, he continued to attract big-budget
films and worked in two further films with music by Rahman in 1996, Love Birds and Mr. Romeo.
Shot extensively in London, Love Birds received a wide theatrical release in overseas destinations
and won Deva positive reviews for his portrayal.[14] Meanwhile, for Mr. Romeo, Deva charged a
comparatively high ₹60 lakhs for his remuneration and appeared in a double role alongside Shilpa
Shetty and Madhoo. The music and dance portions of both films were praised by critics, though both
endured middling performances at the box office.[15][16]
Deva won critical acclaim for his role in Rajiv Menon's romantic drama Minsara Kanavu (1997),
where he portrayed a streetwise hairstylist who inadvertently attracts the attention of a young
woman, who he tries to help set up with another man. Featuring Deva alongside Arvind
Swamy and Kajol, the film went on to win four National Film Awards, three Tamil Nadu State Film
Awards and a Filmfare Award mostly for the film's soundtrack by Rahman. Meanwhile, Deva also
won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in the song "Vennilave".[17] A critic
from Indolink.com wrote: "it is easy to become a fan of Prabhu Deva after this movie if you are not
one yet", while Rediff.com referred to his performance as "graceful".[18][19] Minsara Kanavu performed
well at the box office and also had a wide release in Hindi, under the title Sapnay. His following
release, the romantic comedy V. I. P.(1997), featuring an ensemble cast
of Abbas, Simran and Rambha also did well commercially.[20][21] Indolink.com described the film as
"probably the feel-good movie of 1997", adding that "this movie is important as its probably the
coming of age for Prabhu Deva" and that "he has definitely matured since his Kadhalan days and
shows a lot more restraint and a little flair for comedy".[22] Deva continued to win critical acclaim and
commercial success with his roles in the comedy film Kaathala Kaathala (1998), co-starring Kamal
Haasanand the drama film Ninaivirukkum Varai (1999). Regarding his performance in the latter film,
a reviewer from Indolink.com cited that "Prabhu Deva gets a wonderful script and character that he's
comfortable in".[23][24] He subsequently went on to feature in the Guinness World Record-setting
film Suyamvaram (1999) and Vikraman's successful family drama film Vaanathaippola (2000), where
critics praised his "histrionic abilities".[25]