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 also appeared in few Kannada and Malayalam films. In a career spanning 32 years, he has performed and designed dancing styles and has garnered two National Film Awards for Best Choreography. In 2019, Prabhu Deva was awarded Padma Shri for his contributions to the field of art and dance.

Beginning with a series of acting roles in the 1990s and early 2000s, Prabhu Deva featured in several commercially successful films including Kaadhalan (1994), Love Birds (1996), Minsara Kanavu (1997) and VIP (1997). After further critically acclaimed performances in Kaathala Kaathala (1998), Vanathai Pola (2000), Pennin Manathai Thottu (2000), Alli Thandha Vaanam (2001) and Engal 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 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 Bliing (2015).