| Prabhu Deva | |
|---|---|
| Born | Prabhu Deva Sundaram 3 April 1973 Mysore, Karnataka, India |
| Occupation | Film actor, director, choreographer |
| Years active | 1987—present |
Prabhu Deva (Kannada: ಪ್ರಭು ದೇವ; born 3 April 1973)[1][2] is an Indian dancer, choreographer, film actor and director. He has performed in a wide range of dancing styles.
Contents |
Prabhu Deva was born in Mysore, Karnataka and grew up in Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He belongs to the Lingayat community.[3][4][5] Prabhu Deva was inspired by his father, Mugur Sundar (known as Sundaram Master), who was a dance master for popular South Indian movies. He took dancing as his career and passion, learning Indian dance forms such as Bharatanatyam as well as Western styles. He is widely considered to be one of Indian cinema's greatest dancers and choreographers; Prabhu Deva has revolutionized some of the aspects of dance and choreography in modern popular Indian cinema.[6] His brothers Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are also established South Indian choreographers.
From choreography he went on to establish himself as an actor. His dance steps helped him become a star in Kollywood (the Tamil film industry). Prabhu Deva's first movie as a dance director was Vetri Vizha. He has since choreographed over 100 movies. Before starting as a full-time actor, he appeared as a background dancer for a song in the Tamil film Agni Natchathiram. His first role as a hero was in Indhu (1994) with actress Roja. Deva's success resulted largely from his dancing. In 1999, Deva, Shobhana and A. R. Rahman performed with a Tamil cinema dancing troupe at the "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert in Munich, Germany. He has a significant fan following in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries. He acted alongside his brothers in the movie 123. As of 2010, he serves as chairman and director of the Prabhudeva's Dance Academy in Singapore.[7]
Prabhu Deva was married to Ramlath for 15 years and had three children, the eldest(Basavaraju/Vishal) died in 2008 after suffering from cancer.[8] During the making of Villu (2009), reports suggested that Prabhu Deva was having an affair with actress Nayantara. This was eventually confirmed by Nayantara, who also stated their intention to marry one another. After a year-long court-case filed by Ramlath against her husband and Nayantara, she finally accepted Prabhu Deva's request for divorce in 2010.[9][10] After a lot of consistent denial for the divorce, it was officially sanctioned on 2nd July, 2011.[11]
On 18 August 2008, 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).[12] The video was created as a soramimi, edited to include incorrect English subtitles that phonetically approximate the original Tamil lyrics.
The name Benny Lava comes from Sutton's homophonic translation of the Tamil lead line "Kalluri vaanil kaayndha nilaavo?" as "My loony bun is fine, Benny Lava!" (original meaning: "The moon (metaphor for 'my love') that scorched the college campus"). The video led other YouTube users to refer to Prabhu Deva as "Benny Lava".
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.[12] The video was described by the Philippine Daily Inquirer as a "Catchy melody, a battalion of back-up dancers, colorful costumes, impressive vocal gymnastics, jaw-dropping choreography this music video has it all. And if those aren't enough, the person who uploaded this vid also provided subtitles so you can sing along. They aren't the real lyrics though, but just what they sound in English, resulting in a lot of nonsense." [sic][13] The music video was featured on The Colbert Report on 4 December 2008[14] and appeared on the Heavy Metal documentary Global Metal. As of at least April 1, 2011, the original video has been removed because of the disabling of Buffalax's YouTube account. However, several other users have uploaded copies of the original video on their YouTube accounts.
| Year | Film | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Mouna Raagam | Tamil | Special appearance in song "Pani Vizhum" | |
| 1988 | Agni Natchathiram | Tamil | Special appearance in song "Raaja Raajathi" | |
| 1991 | Idhayam | Tamil | Special appearance in song "April Mayile" | |
| 1992 | Suriyan | Tamil | Special appearance in song "Laalaku Dol Dappima" | |
| 1993 | Pratap | Tamil | Special appearance in song "Maanga Maanga" | |
| 1993 | Gentleman | Tamil | Special appearance in song "Chikku Bukku Rayile" | |
| Walter Vetrivel | Tamil | Special appearance in song "Chinna Raasave" | ||
| 1994 | Indhu | Pattasu | Tamil | |
| Kaadhalan | Prabhu | Tamil | ||
| 1995 | Raasaiyya | Raasaiyya | Tamil | |
| 1996 | Mr. Romeo | Romeo, Madras |
Tamil | |
| Love Birds | Arun | Tamil | ||
| 1997 | VIP | Guru | Tamil | |
| Minsara Kanavu | Deva | Tamil | ||
| 1998 | Naam Iruvar Nammaku Iruvar | Prabhu | Tamil | |
| Love Story 1999 | Telugu | |||
| Kaathala Kaathala | Sundaralingam | Tamil | ||
| 1999 | Ninaivirukkum Varai | Janakiraman (Jonny) | Tamil | |
| Suyamvaram | Kanna | Tamil | ||
| Time | Srininvasa Murthy | Tamil | ||
| 2000 | Vanathai Pola | Selvakumar | Tamil | |
| Eazhaiyin Sirippil | Ganesan | Tamil | ||
| Pukar | Hindi | Special appearance | ||
| James Pandu | James | Tamil | ||
| Pennin Manathai Thottu | Sunil | Tamil | ||
| Doubles | Prabhu | Tamil | ||
| 2001 | Nila Kaalam | Tamil | ||
| Ullam Kollai Poguthae | Anbu | Tamil | ||
| Alli Thandha Vaanam | Sathyam | Tamil | ||
| Manadhai Thirudivittai | Deva | Tamil | ||
| 2002 | H2O | Vairamuthu | Kannada | |
| Charlie Chaplin | Thiru | Tamil | ||
| Santosham | Pawan | Telugu | ||
| One Two Three | Thirupathy | Tamil | ||
| Manasella Neene | Kannada | |||
| Baba | Tamil | Special appearance | ||
| Agni Varsha | Rakshasha | Hindi | ||
| Shakti - The Power | Hindi | Special appearance | ||
| Thotti Gang | Telugu | |||
| 2003 | Alaudin | Alaudin | Tamil | |
| O Radha Iddharu Krishnula Pelli | Telugu | |||
| Intlo Srimathi Veedhilo Kumari | Telugu | |||
| 2004 | Engal Anna | Kannan | Tamil | |
| Tapana | Telugu | |||
| Andalu Dongale Dorikithe | Bujji | Telugu | ||
| Aabra Ka Daabra | Hindi | Special appearance | ||
| 2005 | Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana | Telugu | Cameo appearance | |
| 2006 | Style | Ganesh | Telugu | |
| Chukkallo Chandrudu | Sharat | Telugu | ||
| Pournami | Telugu | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2007 | Pokkiri | Tamil | Cameo appearance | |
| Shankardada Zindabad | Telugu | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2008 | Vaana | Telugu | Special appearance | |
| Michael Madana Kamaraju | Telugu | |||
| 2009 | Villu | Tamil | Cameo appearance | |
| Wanted | Hindi | Cameo appearance | ||
| 2010 | Pa Ra Pazhanisami | Tamil | Cameo appearance | |
| 2011 | Urumi | Vavvali | Malayalam | |
| Engeyum Kaadhal | Tamil | Special appearance and Director | ||
| Kalavadiya Pozhudugal | Porcheziyan | Tamil | Post-production |
| As choreographer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Language | Notes |
| 1988 | Agni Natchathram | Tamil | |
| 1989 | Vetri Vizha | Tamil | |
| 1990 | Raja Vikramarka | Telugu | |
| Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari | Telugu | ||
| 1991 | Idhayam | Tamil | |
| Thalapathi | Tamil | ||
| Rowdy plludu | Telugu | ||
| Kshana Kshanam | Telugu | ||
| Gang Leader | Telugu | ||
| 1992 | Suriyan | Tamil | |
| Gharana Mogudu | Telugu | ||
| Dharma Kshetram | Telugu | ||
| Johnny Walker | Malayalam | ||
| Aaj Ka Goonda Raaj | Hindi | ||
| 1993 | Chandra Mukhi | Hindi | |
| Gumraah | Hindi | ||
| Mechanic Alludu | Telugu | ||
| Gaayam | Telugu | ||
| Govindha Govindha | Telugu | ||
| Thiruda Thiruda | Tamil | ||
| Gentleman | Tamil | ||
| Walter Vetrivel | Tamil | ||
| 1994 | Kadhalan | Tamil | |
| 1995 | Bombay | Tamil | |
| 1997 | Minsara Kanavu | Tamil | Won National Film Award for Best Choreography. |
| 2000 | Pukar | Hindi | Nominated for Star Screen Award for Best Choreography. |
| Pennin Manathai Thottu | Tamil | Features the "Kalluri Vaanil" music video popularly known as "Benny Lava". | |
| 2002 | Shakti: The Power | Hindi | |
| Baba | Tamil | ||
| Agni Varsha | Hindi | ||
| 2003 | Khushi | Hindi | |
| 2004 | Lakshya | Hindi | Won National Film Award for Best Choreography. Won Filmfare Best Choreography Award. Won Star Screen Award for Best Choreography. |
| Samba | Telugu | ||
| 2005 | No Entry | Hindi | |
| Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana | Telugu | Won Filmfare Best Choreography Award (Telugu). | |
| 2006 | Sillunu Oru Kaadhal | Tamil | |
| Don: The Chase Begins Again | Hindi | ||
| Pournami | Telugu | ||
| 2007 | Sivaji: The Boss | Tamil | |
| Pokkiri | Tamil | ||
| 2008 | Aegan | Tamil | Hey Sala Song only |
| 2009 | Wanted | Hindi | |
| 2010 | Bodyguard | Malayalam | |
| Enthiran | Tamil | Arima Arima Song | |
| Engeyum Kaadhal | Tamil | Also Director | |
| As director | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Cast | Language | Notes |
| 2005 | Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana | Siddharth, Trisha Krishnan | Telugu | Filmfare Best Film Award (Telugu) Filmfare Best Choreography Award (South) |
| 2006 | Pournami | Prabhas, Trisha Krishnan | Telugu | |
| 2007 | Pokkiri | Vijay, Asin | Tamil | Winner, Vijay Award for Favourite Director |
| Shankardada Zindabad | Chiranjeevi, Karishma Kotak | Telugu | ||
| 2009 | Villu | Vijay, Nayanthara | Tamil | |
| Wanted | Salman Khan, Ayesha Takia Azmi | Hindi | ||
| 2011 | Engeyum Kaadhal | Jayam Ravi, Hansika Motwani | Tamil | |
| Vedi | Vishal Krishna, Sameera Reddy | Tamil | ||
| 2011 | Rowdy Rathore | Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha | Hindi | Filming |
|
||||||||