Prabhu Deva

Prabhu Deva
Born Prabhu Deva Sundaram
(1973-04-03) 3 April 1973[1][2]
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India[3]
Occupation Film actor, director, dance choreographer, producer
Years active 1988–present
Spouse(s) Ramlath (1995–2010)
Children 3
Parent(s) Mugur Sundar
Relatives

Raju Sundaram (Brother)

Nagendra Prasad (Brother)

Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor,[4] who has worked in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. In a career spanning twenty-five years, he has performed and designed a wide range of dancing styles and has garnered two National Film Awards for Best Choreography.[5]

Beginning with a series of acting roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, Prabhu Deva featured in several commercially successful films including Kadhalan (1994), Minsara Kanavu (1997) and VIP (1997). After further critically acclaimed performances in the comedy Kaathala Kaathala (1998) and the family drama Vanathai Pola (2000), 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 and low budget Telugu language films. 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 Telugu, Hindi and Tamil languages such as Pokkiri (2007), Wanted (2009), Rowdy Rathore (2012) and Singh is Bling (2015).[6]

Early life and career

Prabhu Deva was inspired by his father, Mugur Sundar, a choreographer for South Indian movies, and took up dancing learning Indian classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam from Dharmaraj and Udupi Lakshminarayanan[7] as well as Western styles. Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are his brothers.

Prabhu Deva first appeared as a boy playing a flute in the song "Panivizhum Iravu" from the Tamil film Mouna Ragam (1986).[8][9] 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 Vetri Vizha (1989). He has since then choreographed in over 100 movies. From choreography, he went into acting. In 1999, Dheva, 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 Prabhudheva's Dance Academy in Singapore.[10] He planned to release his first video album called It is boring in 2013.[11]

Acting career

1993-2000

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. 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 the 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 Haasan and 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 onto 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]

2000-2015

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 in Eazhaiyin Sirippil (2000) and commercial success with his work in Sundar C's Ullam Kollai Poguthae (2001) and Manadhai Thirudivittai (2001), many of his other Tamil films during the period did not perform well financially.[26] In the period, he also notably worked on the trilingual One Two Three (2002) alongside his brothers and Siddique's Engal Anna (2004) with Vijayakanth. Subsequently, Deva moved on to prioritise acting roles in different industries, notably starring in off-beat roles in the Kannada film H2O (2002) alongside Upendra and the Hindi film Agni Varsha (2002) with Amitabh Bachchan. He also worked extensively in the Telugu film industry, appearing in multi-starrer films or as the second lead actor, in projects including Santosham (2002), Kalyana Ramudu (2003) and Andaru Dongale Dorikite (2004).[27]

Following the success of his directorial ventures, Deva actively began to appear in less acting roles. However, he continued to make occasional appearances and portrayed leading roles in the dance films, Style (2006), ABCD (2013) and its sequel ABCD 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 in ABCD.[28] Deva also portrayed a supporting role in Santosh Sivan's Malayalam historical drama film, Urumi (2011) featuring in an ensemble cast including Prithviraj, Arya and Genelia D'Souza. The film opened to critical acclaim, while Deva was highly appreciated for his performance with a critic from The Hindu noting Deva "excels with his standout comic repartee".[29][30]

Personal life

Deva at a promotion for the film Wanted

Prabhu Deva married Ramlath who changed her name to Latha. They had three children, but their eldest son died of cancer in 2008.[31][32] In 2010 his wife filed a petition at the family court, seeking directions against Deva from live-in relationship with the actress Nayantara and requesting a reunion with him.[33][34] Furthermore, Ramalath threatened to go on hunger strike if Prabhu Dheva married Nayantara, while several women's organizations conducted protests against Nayantara for bringing disrepute to Tamil culture, burning an effigy of her.[35] In 2012, Nayantara confirmed that she had ended her relationship with Prabhu Deva.[36][37][38][39]

Deva has moved to Mumbai and is residing at Boney Kapoor's old place called Green Acres.[40] Prabhu Deva's mother Mahadevamma is from the village of Doora, about 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Mysore. He owns property in Doora, and has developed a farm there.[41]

Other appearances

Deva with Sonakshi Sinha and Akshay Kumar during the promotions of film Rowdy Rathore

Deva made brief appearances in solo items such as "April Mayile" in Idhayam (1991), "Lallaku Doldapi Ma" in Suriyan (1992), "Chinna Rasave" in Walter Vetrivel (1993), and "Chikku Bukku Rayile" in Gentleman (1993) after appearing as junior artist in songs like "Rajathi Raja" in Agni Natchathiram (1988). He performed with Madhuri Dixit in the song "Ke Sera Sera" for the movie Pukar. He acted along with Lawrence Raghavendra in the 2006 film Style. He performed with Apache Indian in the song "No Problem" for his film Love Birds.

Prabhu Dheva's performance at IPL Season 5 opening ceremony

He performed in the film Abrakadabra for the song "Om Sh". He performed in the Nana Patekar, Karisma Kapoor starrer film Shakti: The Power (2002) for a song. He performed with Upendra in Kannada film H20. He made a special appearance in Pokkiri (which was directed by himself) with Vijay in the song "Aadungada". He performed again with Vijay in his own direction Villu for the song "Hey Rama" as a guest appearance. He performed with Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Govinda for a song in his 2009 directorial Wanted.

He performed at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Indian Premier League on 3 April in Chennai along with Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra and American artist Katy Perry. The event was special to Prabhu Deva as he shared his 39th birthday on the same day.[42][43]

Soramimi spoof
Kalluri Vaanil
The Tamil song became widely known to the English internet audience for its phonetic lyrics.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

On 18 August 2007, a music video for the song "Kalluri Vaanil" from the Indian-Tamil movie Pennin Manathai Thottu was uploaded to YouTube by Mike Sutton (YouTube user Buffalax).[44] The video was retitled Benny Lava and created as a soramimi, edited to include incorrect English subtitles that phonetically approximate the original Tamil lyrics.

Reactions to the "Kalluri Vaanil" soramimi were mixed. Some felt that the video was done in "good fun" while others worried that their culture was being mocked.[44] The music video was featured on The Colbert Report on 4 December 2008[45] and appeared on the heavy metal documentary Global Metal.

Filmography

Director

Film Year Language Notes
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana 2004 Telugu
Pournami 2006 Telugu
Pokkiri 2007 Tamil Vijay Award for Favourite Director
Nominated, Filmfare Award for Best Tamil Director
Shankardada Zindabad 2007 Telugu
Villu 2009 Tamil
Wanted 2009 Hindi
Engeyum Kaadhal 2011 Tamil
Vedi 2011 Tamil
Rowdy Rathore 2012 Hindi
Ramaiya Vastavaiya 2013 Hindi
R... Rajkumar 2013 Hindi
Action Jackson 2014 Hindi
Singh is Bling 2015 Hindi

Producer

He established production company Prabhu Deva Studios.

Film Year Director Language Notes
Devi 2016 A. L. Vijay Tamil
Sila Samayangalil 2016 Priyadarshan Tamil Filming
Vinodhan 2016 Victor Jayaraj Tamil Filming
Bogan 2016 Lakshman Tamil Filming

Performance roles

Actor

Film Year Language Role Notes
Indhu 1994 Tamil Pattasu
Kaadhalan 1994 Tamil Prabhu
Raasaiyya 1995 Tamil Raasaiyya
Love Birds 1996 Tamil Arun
Mr. Romeo 1996 Tamil Romeo, Madras
Minsara Kanavu 1997 Tamil Deva
VIP 1997 Tamil Guru
Naam Iruvar Nammaku Iruvar 1998 Tamil Prabhu, Deva
Love Story 1999 1998 Telugu Vamsi
Kaathala Kaathala 1998 Tamil Sundaralingam
Ninaivirukkum Varai 1999 Tamil Janakiraman (Jonny)
Suyamvaram 1999 Tamil Kanna
Time 1999 Tamil Srininvasa Murthy
Vaanathaippola 2000 Tamil Selvakumar
Eazhaiyin Sirippil 2000 Tamil Ganesan
James Pandu 2000 Tamil James
Pennin Manathai Thottu 2000 Tamil Sunil
Doubles 2000 Tamil Prabhu
Ullam Kollai Poguthae 2001 Tamil Anbu
Alli Thandha Vaanam 2001 Tamil Sathyam
Manadhai Thirudivittai 2001 Tamil Deva
Charlie Chaplin 2002 Tamil Thiru
H2O 2002 Kannada Vairamuthu Partially reshot in Tamil
Santosham 2002 Telugu Pawan
One Two Three 2002 Tamil Tirupati Partially re-shot and released in Telugu and Kannada
Agni Varsha 2002 Hindi Rakshasha
Thotti Gang 2002 Telugu Suri Babu
Kalyana Ramudu 2003 Telugu Rajesh
Alaudin 2003 Tamil Alaudin
Oka Radha Iddaru Krishnula Pelli 2003 Telugu Murugan
Engal Anna 2004 Tamil Kannan
Tapana 2004 Telugu Venu
Intlo Srimathi Veedhilo Kumari 2004 Telugu Gopal
Andalu Dongale Dorikithe 2004 Telugu Bujji
Style 2006 Telugu Ganesh
Chukkallo Chandrudu 2006 Telugu Sharat Guest appearance
Naayudamma 2006 Telugu Prabhu
Michael Madana Kamaraju 2008 Telugu Michael, Ravi
Urumi 2011 Malayalam Vavvali
ABCD 2013 Hindi Vishnu
ABCD 2 2015 Hindi Vishnu
Devi
Tutak Tutak Tutiya
Abhinetri 		2016 Tamil
Hindi
Telugu 		Krishna Kumar
Kalavaadiya Pozhuthugal - Tamil Chezhiyan Delayed

Dancer

Film Song Year Language Notes
Mouna Ragam "Panivizhum" 1986 Tamil
Agni Natchathiram "Raja Rajadhi" 1988 Tamil
Adhikari "Naiyaandi Melam" 1991 Tamil
Idhayam "April Mayile" 1991 Tamil
Unnai Vaazhthi Paadugiren "Outa Langdi" 1992 Tamil
Suriyan "Laalaku Dol Dappima" 1992 Tamil
Prathap "Maanga Maanga" 1993 Tamil
Rakshana "Gallu Mandhi Basu" 1993 Telugu
Aagraham 1993 Telugu
Gentleman "Chikku Bukku Rayile" 1993 Tamil
Walter Vetrivel "Chinna Raasave" 1993 Tamil
Pukar "Kay Sera Sera" 2000 Hindi
Manasella Neene Guest judge 2002 Kannada Guest appearance
Baba "Kichchu Tha" 2002 Tamil
Shakti "Dumroo Baje Re" 2002 Hindi
Aabra Ka Daabra "Shiv Om" 2004 Hindi
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana "Paripoke Pitta" 2005 Telugu
Pournami "Koyo Koyo" 2006 Telugu
Pokkiri "Aadungada" 2007 Tamil
Shankardada Zindabad "Jagadeka Veeruniki" 2007 Telugu
Vaana "Unnattaa Lenattaa" 2008 Telugu
Villu "Rama Rama" 2009 Tamil
Wanted "Jalwa" 2009 Hindi
Pa Ra Palanisamy "Singari Mava" 2010 Tamil
Engeyum Kaadhal "Engeyum Kaadhal" 2011 Tamil
Dhoni "Vaangum Panathukkum" 2012 Tamil
Dhoni "Mattiloni Chettu" 2012 Telugu
Rowdy Rathore "Chinta Ta Chita" 2012 Hindi
Oh My God "Govinda" 2012 Hindi
Ramaiya Vastavaiya "Jadoo Ki Jhappi" 2013 Hindi
Boss "Hum Na Tode" 2013 Hindi
R... Rajkumar "Gandi Baat" 2013 Hindi
Happy New Year Dance instructor 2014 Hindi Guest appearance
Action Jackson "AJ" 2014 Hindi
Devil(L) "Chal Maar" 2016 Tamil Theri (2016 film) 2016Tamil Hero

Singer

Film Song Year Language Notes
Suyamvaram "Siva Siva Sankara" 1999 Tamil [46]
Ullam Kollai Poguthe "Kingda" 2001 Tamil Sang the chorus portions

References

  1. ↑ "Prabhu Deva — Prabhu Deva Biography". Koimoi.com. 1973-04-03. Retrieved 2014-02-24.
  2. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aao0vBHjOJE
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ii4FkdeVXiQ
  4. ↑ Sharma, Itee (23 June 2013). "Lights, romance, action". The Hindu. Chennai, India.
  5. ↑ Photos: prabhu-deva.jpg. Mid-day.com. Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
  6. ↑ Objections raised against Prabhu Deva, prabhu deva, Ramaiya Vastavaiya. Behindwoods.com (23 April 2013). Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
  7. ↑ "Prabhu Deva: From his father's shadow to the limelight". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 29 June 2006.
  8. ↑ "ஐ.பி.எல் 20-20! பங்கேற்கிறார் பிரபு தேவா!". Nakkheeran (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 9 August 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  9. ↑ Deva, Prabhu (24 March 2016). "இதுதான் நான் 18: மணி சார் கையால் வாங்கிய 'மணி'" [This is me, part 18: The 'mani' (time) I got from Mani sir's hands]. The Hindu (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 3 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  10. ↑ Prabhudeva's Dance Academy. Prabhudeva.com.sg. Retrieved on 13 November 2011.
  11. ↑ பிரபு தேவாவின் இசை ஆல்பம் தலைப்பு 'போருடா'!- prabhu deva reveals his album title – Oneindia Tamil. Tamil.oneindia.in (11 February 2012). Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
  12. ↑ http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies/slideshow/first-date-with-the-magician/prabhudeva---kaadhalan.html
  13. ↑ http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movies-cinema-fans-column/tamil-films-from-the-last-25-years.html
  14. ↑ https://archive.org/details/LoveBirdsNSTReview
  15. ↑ https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/soc.culture.tamil/ji-Dgf1DoZ8
  16. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20120322151824/http://www.cscsarchive.org:8081/MediaArchive/art.nsf/(docid)/91597BB83C97B34B65256940004D0DDC
  17. ↑ "Kamal, Tabu bag top film awards - The Hindu". Cscsarchive.org:8081. 20 June 2004. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  18. ↑ http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/minsaara.htm
  19. ↑ http://m.rediff.com/movies/2000/may/10kandu.htm
  20. ↑ http://www.rediff.com/movies/1998/dec/01ss.htm
  21. ↑ http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Specials/97/Oct/a-z/atoz-5.htm
  22. ↑ http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/vip.htm
  23. ↑ http://www.indolink.com/tamil/cinema/Reviews/articles/Ninaivirukkum_Varai_1566.html
  24. ↑ http://www.bbthots.com/reviews/1999/nvarai.html
  25. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/2000/01/21/stories/09210223.htm
  26. ↑ http://ganeshyamalabittu.tripod.com/heroes/id36.html
  27. ↑ http://www.idlebrain.com/movie/archive/mr-tapana.html
  28. ↑ http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/abcd-any-body-can-dance/critic-review/
  29. ↑ http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-reviews/reviews-2/may-12-04/urumi-review.html
  30. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/urumi-engaging-epic/article3473656.ece
  31. ↑ Prabhudeva's little son passes away!. Sify.com (4 December 2008)
  32. ↑ Ramlath demands immediate arrest of Nayantara!. Entertainment.oneindia.in (23 September 2009). Retrieved on 27 September 2013.
  33. ↑ "Prabhu's wife files for second petition". The Times Of India. 7 October 2010.
  34. ↑ Entertainment News, Latest Entertainment News, Hollywood Bollywood News | Entertainment – Times of India. Movies.indiatimes.com.
  35. ↑ "Nayanthara – Tamil Movie News – Nayanthara's effigy burnt – Nayanthara | Prabhu Dheva | Ramlath | Kalpana". Behindwoods. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  36. ↑ "Nayanthara, Prabhu Dheva call it quits". The Times Of India. 28 January 2012.
  37. ↑ "Prabhu Deva enters into divorce deal with wife". The Times Of India. 29 December 2010.
  38. ↑ "Prabhu Deva granted divorce". Sify. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  39. ↑ "Nayanthara, Prabhu Deva call it quits". The Times Of India. 28 January 2012.
  40. ↑ "Shruti Haasan bags Prabhu Dheva's next film". The Times Of India. 9 July 2012.
  41. ↑ "Prabhu Deva Celebrates New Year In Mysore". FilmiBeat. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-18.
  42. ↑ "Prabhu Dheva, Salman, Priyanka dance begins with IPL!". 18 March 2012.
  43. ↑ "IPL 2012: Katy Perry can't wait to see India". 2 April 2012.
  44. 1 2 Phan, Monty (6 November 2007). "Buffalax Mines Twisted Translations for YouTube Yuks". (Entertainment : The Web). Wired Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
  45. ↑ (Video) The Colbert Report, Comedy Central, 4 December 2008.
  46. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkyRIVSpuFs

External links

Media related to Prabhu Deva at Wikimedia Commons

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