Prabhu Deva

Prabhu Deva was born on 3 April 1973 in Mysore, Karnataka, into a Kannadiga family. His father, Mugur Sundar, was a choreographer for South Indian films, and his mother is Mahadevamma Sundar. Inspired by his father, he learned Bharatanatyam from Dharmaraj and Udupi Lakshminarayanan, along with Western dance styles. His brothers, Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad, also work in the industry. He first appeared on screen as a boy playing a flute in the song "Panivizhum Iravu" from the 1986 Tamil film *Mouna Ragam*, and later as a background dancer in the 1988 film *Agni Natchathiram*. His first choreography job was for the Kamal Haasan film *Vetri Vizha* (1989), and he has since choreographed over 100 movies. In 1999, he performed alongside Shobhana and A. R. Rahman at a Michael Jackson tribute concert in Munich. As of 2010, he chairs and directs Prabhu Deva's Dance Academy in Singapore.

After several cameo dance appearances, he got his first lead role in the 1994 romantic drama *Indhu*, directed by Pavithran. His breakthrough came later that year with Shankar's *Kaadhalan*, where he played a student who opposes his lover’s father and later fights an international terrorist. The film was the highest-grossing Tamil film of 1994, and its songs "Mukkabla" and "Urvasi Urvasi" became hugely popular. Its success in dubbed Telugu and Hindi versions opened up markets for him in other regional industries. His next film, *Raasaiyya* (1995), did poorly, but he continued to land big-budget projects. In 1996, he worked on *Love Birds* and *Mr. Romeo*, both with music by A. R. Rahman. *Love Birds* was shot in London and earned him positive reviews, while *Mr. Romeo* saw him in a double role for a reported ₹60 lakh fee. Both films had praised music and dance but only middling box-office returns.

He earned critical acclaim for his role in Rajiv Menon's *Minsara Kanavu* (1997), playing a hairstylist who helps a woman pursue another man but falls in love with her himself. The film won four National Film Awards, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, and a Filmfare Award, mostly for its soundtrack. Deva won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for the song "Vennilave". Critics praised his performance as graceful, and the film did well commercially, with a Hindi release titled *Sapnay*. His next release, the romantic comedy *V. I. P.* (1997), also performed well commercially, with critics noting his growth as an actor and his comedic flair. During this period, he signed a big-budget bilingual Tamil-Hindi film *Mazhai Vara Poguthey* opposite Juhi Chawla, but it was later cancelled. He continued to win acclaim with the comedy *Kaathala Kaathala* (1998) alongside Kamal Haasan and the drama *Ninaivirukkum Varai*.

Over a career of 32 years, Deva has worked predominantly in Tamil, Hindi, and Telugu films, with occasional appearances in Kannada and Malayalam cinema. He has won two National Film Awards for Best Choreography and received the Padma Shri in 2019 for his contributions to art and dance. He began with successful acting roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, including hits like *Kaadhalan* (1994), *Love Birds* (1996), *Minsara Kanavu* (1997), and *VIP* (1997), followed by critically praised performances in *Kaathala Kaathala* (1998), *Vanathai Pola* (2000), *Pennin Manathai Thottu* (2000), *Alli Thandha Vaanam* (2001), and *Engal Anna* (2004). After that, his box-office value declined, and he shifted to supporting roles in Tamil. He then successfully moved into directing with the 2005 Telugu film *Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana*, which led to more directorial offers. He went on to direct highly profitable films in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi, including *Pokkiri* (2007), *Shankar Dada Zindabad* (2007), *Wanted* (2009), *Rowdy Rathore* (2012), *R... Rajkumar* (2013), and *Singh is Bliing* (2015).