Prabhu Deva | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Deva at the promotion ofRowdy Rathore in 2012 | |
| Born | (1973-04-03)3 April 1973 (age 52)[1][2] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Father | Mugur Sundar |
| Relatives |
|
| Honours | Padma Shri (2019) |
Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly inTamil,Hindi andTelugu language films also appeared in fewKannada andMalayalam films.[3] In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed dancing styles and has garnered twoNational Film Awards forBest Choreography. In 2019, Prabhu Deva was awarded Padma Shri for his contributions to the field of art and dance.[4]
Beginning with a series of acting roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, Prabhu Deva featured in several commercially successful films includingKaadhalan (1994),Love Birds (1996),Minsara Kanavu (1997) andVIP (1997). After further critically acclaimed performances inKaathala Kaathala (1998),Vanathai Pola (2000),Pennin Manathai Thottu (2000),Alli Thandha Vaanam (2001) andEngal Anna (2004). Deva then failed to recreate the success of his earlier films and his box office value began to decline. He subsequently made appearances in supporting roles in Tamil. He then successfully ventured into direction with the 2005Telugu filmNuvvostanante 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 andHindi languages such asPokkiri (2007),Shankar Dada Zindabad (2007),Wanted (2009),Rowdy Rathore (2012),R... Rajkumar (2013) andSingh is Bliing (2015).[5]
Prabhu Deva was born on 3 April 1973 inMysore,Mysore State (present-dayKarnataka) in aKannadiga family toMugur Sundar and Mahadevamma Sundar. Inspired by his fatherMugur Sundar, a choreographer forSouth Indian movies, he took up dancing, learningIndian classical dance forms such asBharatanatyam from Dharmaraj and Udupi Lakshminarayanan.[6][7] as well as Western styles.Raju Sundaram andNagendra Prasad are his brothers.
Deva first appeared as a boy playing a flute in the song "Panivizhum Iravu", from the Tamil filmMouna Ragam (1986).[8][9] He later appeared as a background dancer for a song in the 1988Tamil filmAgni Natchathiram. Deva's first venture as a choreographer was the Kamal Haasan starrerVetri Vizha (1989).[10] He has since then choreographed for over 100 movies. From choreography, he went into acting. In 1999, Deva,Shobhana andA. R. Rahman performed with a Tamil cinema dancing troupe at the "MJ & Friends" Michael Jackson tribute concert inMunich, Germany. As of 2010, he serves as chairman and director of the Prabhu Deva's Dance Academy inSingapore.[11]
After a series of cameo appearances in songs from Tamil films, Deva was given his first lead role by directorPavithran in the romantic drama filmIndhu (1994). Appearing alongside actressRoja andSarathkumar, Deva's ability to dance was fully utilised in the song sequences, withgaana anddisco music thereafter being regularly featured in his films. He made his breakthrough as an actor withShankar's sophomore film, the romantic dramaKaadhalan (1994), where he portrayed a young student who first stands up against his lover's father and then an international terrorist.[10] The film was highly lauded for its technical prowess and went on to win fourNational Film Awards, whileA. 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 projectRaasaiyya (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 andMr. Romeo. Shot extensively inLondon,Love Birds received a wide theatrical release in overseas destinations and won Deva positive reviews for his portrayal.[14] Meanwhile, forMr. Romeo, Deva charged a comparatively high ₹60 lakhs for his remuneration and appeared in a double role alongsideShilpa Shetty andMadhoo. 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 inRajiv Menon's romantic dramaMinsara 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 but instead falls in love with her. Featuring Deva alongsideArvind Swamy andKajol, the film went on to win fourNational Film Awards, threeTamil Nadu State Film Awards and aFilmfare Award mostly for the film's soundtrack by Rahman. Meanwhile, Deva also won theNational Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in the song "Vennilave".[17][18] 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".[19][20]Minsara Kanavu performed well at the box office and also had a wide release in Hindi, under the titleSapnay. His following release, the romantic comedyV. I. P. (1997), featuring an ensemble cast ofAbbas,Simran andRambha also did well commercially.[21][22] 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 hisKaadhalan days and shows a lot more restraint and a little flair for comedy".[23] During the period, Deva also signed a big-budget bilingual Hindi and Tamil production titledMazhai Vara Poguthey oppositeJuhi Chawla. Despite beginning production, the film was later cancelled.[24][25]
Deva continued to win critical acclaim and commercial success with his roles in the comedy filmKaathala Kaathala (1998), co-starringKamal Haasan and the drama filmNinaivirukkum 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".[26] He subsequently went on to feature in theGuinness World Record-setting filmSuyamvaram (1999) andVikraman's successful family drama filmVaanathaippola (2000), where critics praised his "histrionic abilities".[27]
In the early 2000s, Deva actively began to work on more smaller-budget comedy films as his appeal at the box office began to decline. Despite winning critical acclaim for his performance as a bus conductor inEazhaiyin Sirippil (2000) and commercial success with his work inSundar C'sUllam Kollai Poguthae (2001),Manadhai Thirudivittai (2001) andCharlie Chaplin (2002), many of his other Tamil films during the period did not perform well financially.[28] In this period, he also notably worked on the filmOne Two Three, The Winners (2002) along withJyothika and real-life brothers,Raju Sundaram andNagendra Prasad,[29] as well asSiddique's successful hitEngal Anna (2004), withVijayakanth. Subsequently, Deva moved on to prioritise acting roles in different industries, notably starring in off-beat roles in the Kannada filmH2O (2002), alongsideUpendra and the Hindi filmAgni Varsha (2002), withAmitabh Bachchan. He also worked extensively in the Telugu film industry, appearing in multi-starrer films or as the second lead actor, in projects includingSantosham (2002),Kalyana Ramudu (2003) andAndaru Dongale Dorikite (2004).[30]
Following the success of his directorial ventures, Deva actively began to appear in fewer acting roles. He portrayed leading roles in the dance filmStyle (2006). Deva also portrayed a supporting role inSantosh Sivan's Malayalamhistorical drama filmUrumi (2011), featuring in an ensemble cast includingPrithviraj,Arya andGenelia D'Souza. The film opened to critical acclaim, while Deva was highly appreciated for his performance with a critic fromThe Hindu noting: Deva "excels with his standout comic repartee".[31][32] He continued to make occasional appearances and portrayed leading roles in the dance filmsStyle (2006),ABCD (2013) and its sequelABCD 2 (2015). The films all performed well commercially, with a critic writing: "regarded as the dance legend by many, Prabhu is, expectedly, incomparable in dances, but the good news is that he handles the dramatic scenes well too" for his performance inABCD.[33]
Deva returned to Tamil cinema as an actor after a gap of 11 years with the 2016 filmDevi, joining hands with directorA. L. Vijay.[34] The film was also simultaneously shot in Hindi and Telugu, titledAbhinetri andTutak Tutak Tutiya.[35][36] After several delaysThangar Bachan's filmKalavaadiya Pozhuthugal was released in 2017. The comedy driven heist filmGulaebaghavali (2018) was released in Pongal festival.[37] Followed by silent film,Mercury (2018) and musical dance filmLakshmi (2018).[38][39] The next wasCharlie Chaplin 2 (2019) was released, which is a sequel to 2002 filmCharlie Chaplin.[40] He also debuted as a lyricist in the film.[41] After that Deva appeared inDevi 2, which is a sequel ofDevi.[42] The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu asAbhinetri 2 andKhamoshi directed byChakri Toleti, both co-starringTamannaah.[43][44] Apart from directingDabangg 3 (2019), Prabhu Deva will also be seen inRemo D'Souza dance flickStreet Dancer 3D (2020).[45] Then, Prabhu Deva directedSalman Khan inRadhe (2021), a remake of the 2017 South Korean film,The Outlaws.[46][47] He has acted in his 50th film as an actor titledPon Manickavel (2021). In this film, Prabhu Deva will play a police officer for the first time.[48] In 2022 he had three releases withTheal,My Dear Bootham andPoikkal Kudhirai.[49][50][51] Prabhu Deva then delivered an intense performance in the filmBagheera (2023) despite the average reviews received.[52] In 2024, he was seen in Kannada cinema after a long time and shared screen for the first time withShiva Rajkumar for this period filmKarataka Damanaka.[53] He was cast in the action thriller filmThe Greatest of All Time starringVijay directed byVenkat Prabhu.[54]
Prabhu Deva married Ramlath, who later changed her name to Latha. They had three children, but their eldest son died of cancer in 2008, aged 13.[55] In 2010, Ramlath filed a petition at the family court, seeking directions against Deva fromlive-in relationship with the actressNayanthara and requesting a reunion with him. Furthermore, Ramlath threatened to go on ahunger strike if Prabhu Deva married Nayanthara. Several women's organisations conducted protests against Nayanthara for bringing disrepute to Tamil culture, burning aneffigy of her. Ramlath and Deva divorced in 2011. In 2012, Nayanthara confirmed that she had ended her relationship with Prabhu Deva.[56][57][58][59]
Deva moved to Mumbai and started residing atBoney Kapoor's old house called Green Acres.[60] Prabhu Deva's mother Mahadevamma is from the village ofDoora, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) fromMysore. He owns property in Doora, and has developed a farm there.[61]
In May 2020, amid theCOVID-19 lockdown in India, Deva married Himani, aMumbai based physiotherapist at age 47.[62][63] He had a fourth child, a girl, on 13 June 2023.[64]
.jpg)
Deva made brief appearances in solo items such as "April Mayile" inIdhayam (1991), "Lallaku Doldapi Ma" inSuriyan (1992), "Chinna Rasave" inWalter Vetrivel (1993), "Chikku Bukku Rayile" inGentleman (1993), after appearing as junior artist in songs such as "Rajathi Raja" inAgni Natchathiram (1988). He performed withMadhuri Dixit in the song "Ke Sera Sera" for the moviePukar. He acted along withLawrence Raghavendra in the 2006Telugu filmStyle. He performed withApache Indian in the song "No Problem" for his filmLove Birds.
.jpg)
He performed in the filmAabra Ka Daabra, for the song "Om Sh". He performed in theNana Patekar andKarisma Kapoor-starrer filmShakti: The Power (2002) for a song. He performed withUpendra in the Kannada filmH2O. He made a special appearance inPokkiri (which was directed by himself), withVijay in the song "Aadungada". He performed again with Vijay in his own directionalVillu for the song "Hey Rama" as a guest appearance. He performed with Bollywood actorsSalman Khan andGovinda for a song in his 2009 directorialWanted.
He performed at the opening ceremony of the2012 Indian Premier League on 3 April in Chennai along withAmitabh Bachchan,Salman Khan,Kareena Kapoor,Priyanka Chopra and American singer-songwriterKaty Perry. The event was special to Prabhu Deva as he shared his 39th birthday on the same day.[65]
| Year | Award | Category | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Kalaimamani Award | Tamil Film Industry Contribution | [66] |
| 2019 | Padma Shri | Padma Shri in the field of art-dance | [67] |
| Year | Award | Film | Language | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Nandi Awards | Rakshana | Telugu | Best Choreography | Won | [68] |
| 1997 | National Film Awards | Minsara Kanavu | Tamil | Won | [69] | |
| 2004 | Lakshya | Hindi | Won | [70] | ||
| Filmfare Awards | Won | [71] | ||||
| Nandi Awards | Varsham | Telugu | Won | [72] | ||
| 2005 | Filmfare Awards South | Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana | Won | [73] | ||
| 2007 | Vijay Awards | Pokkiri | Tamil | Favourite Director | Won | [74] |
| 2018 | Zee Cine Awards Tamil | Maari 2 | Best Choreography | Won | [75] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
.svg)
