Prabhu Deva

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

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).