He literally jumped to fame with a plunge onto a railway platform, landing on three rhythmic steps followed by a swirling twist of his spine before walking to the glamour girl in the song Chikku Bukku Rayile, in 1993 super hit Tamil movie, Gentleman. The movie, which ran to packed houses for many months not just in theatres in Tamil Nadu but all across South India, was a unique instance when a movie becomes a blockbuster hit thanks to an item song and the actor-choreographer of the song becoming an overnight sensation.

Neither was Gentleman the first movie that Prabhu Deva donned the roles of choreographer-actor nor was it the first time that viewers of Tamil cinema witnessed his screen appearance. Rather, Tamil audiences were already treated to his item numbers like April Mayile (Idhayam, 1991) and Laalaku Dol Dappima (Suriyan, 1992). In January 1993, a few months before Gentleman was released, Prabha Deva made another cameo item number, Chinna Rasave, in Walter Vertivel. The slim 20-year-old in oversized baggy jeans, wooing Sukanya, in fact, was like the trailer of a grand premiere of the dancing wizard that was to happen through Chikku Bukku Rayile later that year and destined to revolutionize choreography and song picturization in Indian cinema.  

Incidentally, while these were instances of his big-screen apperances as an adult, Prabhu Deva was already an industry ‘insider’ by this time having debuted as a child artist in the movie Mouna Ragam in 1986. Audiences of the 1980s will recall the teenager matching steps with dancers older than him and the youth sensation of the time, Karthik, in the evergreen superhit, Raja Rajadhi Raja in Maniratnam’s Agni Nakshathram (1988). 

With his father, Mugar Sundar or Sundaram Master, being one of the most sought-after choreographers in South Indian cinema during the 1980s, it was natural that Prabhu Deva and his two siblings, Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad, grew up in film sets and under arc lights with music and dance all around them. While they might have cut their teeth in the studio floors their father directed, the Agninakshathram appearance by Prabhu Deva was an early indication of a prodigy on the anvil.  

Chikku Bukku Rayile – an epoch in choreography 

To merely state that this item number in Gentleman became a phenomenon, a trendsetter, and a complete departure from the way song picturization happened in Tamil and Indian cinema until then could be an understatement. The song and its visual imagery were much beyond a usual cinematic phenomenon and what cinema-goers had seen hitherto. The first few minutes of the song itself stunned audiences in theatres across South India. The word about the song spread so fast even before its release that people flocked to theatres merely to watch the trailer of Gentleman which showed glimpses of what is in store - an electrifying song and a new dancing sensation. 

Prabhu Deva’s first jump onto the platform and the eye-blinking pace at which his limps moved, shrilled, quivered and swayed with intense energy, and the agility of his body curving and twisting as if fitted with a rubber spine, were all spectacular scenes that swept audiences off their feet. Such a style of dancing, fast moves and break-dance presentation was unseen in Indian cinema before. 

An astonished audience was spellbound at the magic that was unleashed on the screen even as they marvelled at how such a form of dancing was possible and how song picturization, when aided with computer graphics and spectacular choreography, can unleash such a new experience. Furthermore, Raju Sundaram’s Kuthu appearance in the interlude not just gave additional flavour and impact to the song but also indicated the theme underpinning the song, even if little to do with the movie’s narrative. 

Adding to the style and intensity was the music composed by A.R. Rahman who unveiled a new culture of rock-style music on extraordinary Tamil lyrics, penned by Valli (and Vairamuthu penning most other songs in the film). The opening lines, Chikku Bukku Rayile, Kalakithu Paara Iva Stylee, sang with refreshingly new vocals by Suresh Peters and G.V. Prakash Kumar (as the child voice) and backed by a scintillating chorus, reverberated like new pop culture and signified a new dawn in playback music, initially as a South phenomenon and destined to soon take the nation by storm. 

For Tamil cinema viewers, Kamal Hassan was until then the ultimate onscreen dancer with foot-tapping numbers in a plethora of movies, ranging from Michael Madan Kamarajan, Vikram, Vetrivizha, Satya, Thevar Magan, Apoorva Sagodarangal, Singaravelan, Nammvar and Punnagai Mannan in Tamil, to Ek Duje Ke Liya, Sanam Teri Kasam and Saagar in the pantheon of Hindi cinema. It is another matter that many of these Kamal Hassan movies had Mugur Sundar as the choreographer and his sons assisting him in the song picturization. 

What made Chikku Bukku Rayile a phenomenon that redefined choreography in Indian cinema remains under-studied in the realm of visual arts. There are multiple dimensions, the easiest one to identify is its music. A.R. Rahman, who had shaken the nation with the rhythmic keyboard-centric, jingle-style music in Roja, made a giant leap to dancing beats via a mix of rock, pop and metal blended with traditional Kuthu beats.  It was different in tone from the techno-music tried by Bappi Lahiri, with Thamma Thamma Loge from Thanedaar being in vogue those days . 

It might also be beyond sheer coincidence that Rahman's and Prabhu Deva’s dawning on the scene happened around the same time with Rahman’s music and Prabhu Deva’s choreography complementing each other. The combo produced many super-duper hits until Prabhu Deva moved on to younger music directors who were in sync with the newer musical trends. 

As a matter of fact, Prabhu Deva’s attempt to derive music from the old school did not seem to produce impressive results. This was much evident in Indhu, Prabhu Deva’s first film as hero/lead actor, in which he produced Michael Jackson-style dance moves for the Metro Channel song, which, in turn, turned out to be a sordid attempt at fusion by music director Deva, though the steps performed by Prabhu Deva were formidable and remains inimitable in Indian cinema to this day.

That its music was one of the defining factors for Chikku Bukku Rayile is also manifest when compared to the choreography in Chinna Rasave earlier that year. While Prabhu Deva brought his signature style of fast moves and atypical break-dance steps in Chinna Rasave, it looked dissonant throughout for a typical love song beat composed in standard Tamil movie mode. 

The style that Chikku Bukku Rayile espoused, invariably, marked the beginning of a new era as choreography in Indian mainstream cinema has since then transformed to adopt the Prabhu Deva school, resplendent in Indian movies across the spectrum even three decades later. A closer look at even recent hits like the Oscar-winner, Naatu Naatu, or the songs in Pushpa underlines how even new generation choreographers continue to be inspired by the Prabhu Deva school. 

In fact, much-acclaimed choreographers like Lawrence Raghavendra, who too took the same route to become actor-director, has on many occasions stated Prabhu Deva 'Master' as his inspiration. Master and mentor, of course, he was to a whole generation of junior artists, who had significant and impactful roles, and visual imprints, in his songs and sets. Some like Sridhar and Shobi Raj went on to become successful choreographers in their own right.   

Though the Hindi film industry missed the Chikku Bukku Rayile imprint initially, Bollywood woke up to this phenomenon only after Muqala Muqabala and its end sequence. Having been fed on Saroj Khan’s conventional dancing charm and Bappi Lahiri’s disco tunes for more than a decade, the Prabhu Deva-A.R. Rahman forays came as a headwind for a film industry still struggling with old ideas. 

As Bollywood’s film-makers began to recognize the maestros emerging from the South, their first attempt at assimilation was by redubbing most of their movies and then gradually integrating them into the industry, first with Rahman’s music and subsequently with Prabhu Deva’s advent as a choreographer and thereafter as director. 

The Prabhu Deva ‘school’ of dance

It might be difficult to conceptually explain what his style is, even if seen as a fusion of breakdance, Kuthu folk or mere impulsive movements that are intuitively generated by a rhythmic body from the beats of the provided music. Hailing from a generation that grew up watching Michael Jackson videos, Mithun Chakraborty discos, Nazia Hussain vocals and Bappi Lahiri beats, there was a clear MJ influence in Prabhu Deva’s dancing style as much as the break dance traditions of the 1980s. 

Though it is evident that Prabhu Deva has developed a school of his own, visible in his choreographies, whether designed for actors like Kamal Hassan, Vijay, Akshay Kumar, Dhanush or the ones performed by himself, will be an attempt to endow a dramatis personae to the lead dancer(s)/actor(s) backed by a nuanced storyline or thematic plot that echoes the lyrical or the movie’s narrative. 

In other words, it is not merely a rendition of body movements driven by the impulses of the provided music that can often look monotonous, repetitive and familiar. Rather, his art is about a conscious effort to provide a figurative representation of the lyrical structure of the playback music as best conveyed by the steps and movements, and enriched by comical and dramatic elements or dimensions. 

Even the extensive usage of facial expressions in some sequences, like in Colourful Nilavu, Chikku Bukku Rayile or Strawberry Kanne, signifies the depth of his skill set and understanding of visual sceneries. These methodologies, in fact, had become more relevant after his transition into an actor as the song picturizations were seen as integral elements of his movies.

As a matter of fact, most of the songs in the movies of his early days as an actor – be it Indhu, Kadhalan, Raasiya, Love Birds, Mr Romeo, Naam Iruvar Namuku Iruvar – all had choreographies clearly influenced by the audience's expectation of compulsorily having dance-oriented fast numbers as the USP of the movie. In other words, the plotlines of many of these initial movies, even if essentially love stories, were seemingly scripted to exploit his dancing prowess than his acting skills.   

Songs like Metro Channel (Indu), Mastana Mastana (Raasiya), Urvashi Urvashi, Muqala Muqabala, Pettai Rap (Kaadhalan), No Problem,  Samba Samba(Love Birds), Romeo Attam Pota, Mel Isaiye, Mona Lisa (Mr Romeo), Aiylessa Aiylessa, Kattana Ponnu Romantica (Naam Iruvar Namukku Iruvar), Colorful Nilavu (Doubles), Angala Angala, Kinguda (Ullam Kollai Pogathe), Chikku Chikku Joy, Vadi Vadi Nattukettu (Alli Thanda Vanam), All Day Jolly Day, Manjakattu Maina (Manathai Thirudi Vittai), Naan Salt Kotta, Kalloori Vannil, Kaloori Vaanail and Udhadhukum (Pennin Manathai Thottu), Maana Madurai (Minsara Kanavu, etc, were representative of this pattern.

This is not to state that these movies did not have pathos or slower songs and restricted Prabhu Deva’s skill sets as a choreographer. Rather, the maestro in him was on abundant display from the early years itself through the beautiful visual rendition of Ennavale Ennavale in Kadhalan, his second movie as lead actor, followed by Malargale Malargale in Love Birds. These  majestically created love songs were evidence of the versatility and talent that was oozing from this multi-faceted prodigy. It did not take much time for such a virtuoso to be recognized when his Vennilave (Chanda Re in Hindi) from Minsara Kanavu won him the national award for best choreography. 

The Rajeev Menon-directed Minsara Kanavu in 1997, which also co-starred Kajol and Arvind Swamy, literally marked the Hindi debut of Prabhu Deva with the movie also releasing in Hindi as Sapnay. This movie also signified a paradigm shift in Prabhu Deva’s career and choreography style as he flamed out of the Tamil-centric dancing modes to a method that had national appeal and aura.

A few years down the line, he was in the national limelight when he made Madhuri Dixit match his difficult steps in Key Sera Sera (Pukar, 2000), a song with spectacular dance moves and drama, and shot in settings that were a new experience for Hindi cinema. Songs like Mein Aisa Kyon Hoon (Lakshya, 2004), Chinta Ta Chitha Chitha (Rowdy Rathore, 2012), Go Go Govinda (Oh My God, 2012), etc., have etched a place in the hall of fame in Bollywood’s song picturization legacy. 

Much of the transformation in the post-Minsara Kanavu phase was more about a maturing of style and methods wherein Prabhu Deva experimented with a plethora of dancing genres without deviating from the cinematic contexts of the songs. If Kadhal Neethana in Time (1999) was a beautifully picturized love song with minimalist dancing sequences, Vaadi Vaadi Nattukettu (Alli Thanda Vanam) was picturized in typical folk style; if Naan Salt Kotta, Siva Siva Siva Sankara and Yeppa Yeppa Aiyyappa were designed in typical Kuthu style, All Day Jolly Day was all about a super-paced rock and roll music, with a vintage setting in the second half, unseen in Tamil or Indian cinema hitherto. 

Songs like Chikku Chikku Joy (Alli Thanda Vaanam, 2001), Udhadukkum - rose is a rose is a rose rose (Pennin Manathai Thottu, 2000)  Nadiye Nile Nadiye (Vannathaipole, 2000), Manjakattu Maina (Manathai Thirudi Vittai, 2001) visibly transcend the conventional mode and style of love songs and innovately incorporate elements from other genres. The song Strawberry Kanae (Minsara Kanavu) with the protagonist wooing the leading lady for another man through a teasing song was a completely new experience in choreography. 

Similarly, while Puyale Puyale (Ullam Kollai Poguthe, 2001) was a rarely-seen comic characterization in a song, without any dance sequences, weaved into the movie’s flowing narrative, Chennai Pattinam (Alli Thanda Vaanam, 2001) was a soulful social messaging on money, poverty and moral decay picturized with standard song and dance template. 

Even with his experiments with such variegated templates, some uniform patterns could be noticed in may of his songs, especially the dance numbers set to fast-faced tunes. To borrow a description from Carnatic music, Prabhu Deva maintains a consistent design pattern throughout the Pallavi, Anu Pallavi and Charanams of the songs, but brings in a spectacular series of fast and high-intensity steps, movements and synchronous actions of the junior artists during the interlude between the first and second Charanams. This design feature is seen in many of his fast-paced numbers: Metro Channel, Ayilessa Ayilessa, Colourful Nilavae, Muqala Muqabla, Angala Angala, Kattana Ponnu Romantica, Kalloori Vannil, and so on.

In fact, analyses of his dance styles done by Western observers, like Korbin Miles and Rick Segall, in their Our Stupid Reactions series have also taken note of these patterns. While making a generic comment on many of these songs as “funny and quirky,” the American actor-filmmaker duo describes Prabhu Deva as “one of the greatest dancers” with mind-boggling choreography and non-stop energy. Segall opines that Prabhu Deva’s capacity to be creative is ‘inexhaustible’ and that “he never repeats himself either with his ideas conceptually or with his moves in choreography, and that he is a non-stop fountain of creativity.” 

In fact, western enthusiasts now increasingly flocking to watch Indian film music on YouTube are spellbound at Prabhu Deva’s dancing style and marvelling at the fact that songs like Chikku Bukku Rayile were creations of the early 1990s.  

Prabhu Deva, the actor

Having demonstrated numerous acting skills and expressions in the early songs he appeared as lead dancer, including Chinna Rasave, Lalaku Dol Dapima and eventually Chikku Bukku Rayile, the actor in Prabhu Deva was in abundant display for directors to see. With Chikku Bukku Rayile becoming a sensation, the doors were opened for Prabhu Deva’s debut as an actor. His first movie as hero/lead actor, Indu, having paid more focus on his dances than his acting skills turned only an average hit, probably owing to the weak storyline and the music not aligning well with the dancer-actors evolving style. 

However, joining hands with the Gentleman team again did wonders for Prabhu Deva’s acting career. The movie Kadhalan, directed by Sankar and produced by K.T. Kunjumon, was released in 1994 to packed houses with the Prabhu Deva-Rahman duo presenting a musical extravaganza. The song Muqala Muqabla catapulted Prabha Deva to the national limelight. 

Banking on his stardom and expectations of great dancing spectacles came a series of movies – Rasaaiya, Love Birds, Mr Romeo, VIP. Some were average hits and others flopped. 

It eventually took Minsara Kanavu to resurrect box office success for him, but only to be followed by a succession of average hits and many flops with serious doubts raised on whether his acting skills can carry his film through. While there were occasional blockbusters like Kathala Kathala (co-starring Kamal Hassan), Manathai Thirudi Vittal and Alli Thandam Vannam, all with super hit song-dance treats, most other movies despite hit songs did not muster great responses in the theatres. 

The last few movies he acted in the final years of his first decade as an actor (2002-03), like One Two Three and Aladdin, despite their multi-star cast including one with his siblings, failed at the box office. These setbacks forced Prabhu Deva to shift to Telugu cinema for the next few years, where he mustered viewer interest if not exactly setting the cash registers on fire.

A resurrection came for Prabhu Deva when, in 2005, he first wore the hat of director with his debut being in a Telugu film, Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana, and a year later, also directing a second Telugu movie, Pournami. His directorial skills, however, came into national attention only with the Vijay-starrer Pokkiri in 2007. While Prabhu Deva immensely impressed as a director during this interregnum, his next big break in acting came in 2013 with ABCD-Anybody Can Dance. The success of ABCD restored Prabhu Deva’s position as an actor with movies like Devi, Gulaebhagavali, Mercury, Charlie Chaplin 2, and Pon Manickavel, among others, coming in at regular intervals though most being only average hits. 

At the same time, there were signs of Prabhu Deva of maturing as an actor, with his facial features and good physique attracting many new roles sans the song-and-dance routine. In fact, many film makers, especially in Tamil cinema, are keen to push the boundaries for his acting range through intense and engaging characters that are rarely tested in mainstream cinema. Some of his recent cinematic forays like Theal, My Dear Bhootham, Poikkal Kuthirai, Bhageera, and upcoming ones like Musashi, indicate a new dimension of acting being unveiled by Prabhu Deva, the actor. The day might not be far when one such role will fetch him awards for best acting. 

Irrespective of whether that happens, Prabhu Deva has invariably retained his place as a versatile artist who can don multiple hats with Elan. In fact, there are few talents in Indian cinema today, but for exceptions like Raghavendra Lawrence, who could replicate such versatility and multi-faceted role definitions.   

Prabhu Deva, the director

It will not be inaccurate to aver that Prabhu Deva’s reincarnation as a director is a continuum to his professional status as a choreographer. A choreographer is a mini-director in his own right as even seasoned directors leave the field for the choreographer to design the songs, prepare the sets and direct the song picturization. Prabhu Deva, for that matter, had demonstrated by the late 1980s, when he was still in his teens, that he has the skills and tricks up his sleeve to master this craft. 

Even while serving as an assistant to his father, Prabhu Deva independently choreographed a song in Kamal Hassan’s Vetri Vizha (1989). A year later, Prabhu Deva was credited with independently choreographing another super hit song, Rum Bum Bum, in Kamal Hassan's Michael Madan Kama Rajan. Prabhu Deva was all of 17 when he was choreographing Rum Bum Bum, and just 16 when he did the Verti Vizha song. 

If a 16-year-old could direct the country’s then best-known onscreen dancer, Kamal Hassan, on a fast number like Marugo Marugo or Thattum Thalangu Thattum, then, should he had to wait for another two decades to don the director’s cap though having directed hundreds of songs during this period?

By the time of his first directorial venture in Tamil, Pokkiri (2007), Prabhu Deva was essentially a hands-on and fully-trained film-maker, having spent time at film sets since childhood, having learnt the tricks of the trade as a teenager and already proving his directorial mettle through two Telugu productions. 

That kind of exposure and immense grasp of the craft was amply and abundantly evident in Pokkiri, which astonished the audience with the pace of story-telling, the amazing craft of shots and camera movement, an array of beautifully shot superhit songs, and more importantly, getting the best performance out of a lead actor, Vijay, who was his contemporary and a competitor. The way Prabhu Deva enabled the ‘glorification of the hero’ through punch dialogues that Vijay delivered in Pokkiri underlined the dedication he as the director has given to his movie.     

While his next directorial venture with Vijay, Villu, flopped at cinemas despite being an action-packed thriller with well-choreographed songs embedded at every turn, it was evident that Prabhu Deva, the director, had already arrived. That Prabhu Deva had the mastery to craft movies with mass appeal, transcend linguistic limitations and bring an amazing quality of scene creations and shot choices that could augment the experience of viewers was there to see in all his productions. 

It is this recognition that brought Prabhu Deva to Hindi cinema with his first directorial venture, Wanted, the Hindi version of Pokkiri, making a huge buzz in Bollywood. Deva has since made over 7 Hindi movies, all with leading superstars of Bollywood and all of them making an impact at the box office irrespective of whether they brought in the moolah.  

Though he has directed just two more Tamil movies after Villu flopped, even while acting in a handful of Tamil movies, Prabhu Deva has by now emerged as a pan-Indian film-maker, actor and choreographer, at a level of standing few others have achieved in the country. 

While the country has honoured him with a Padma Shri, though much belatedly, this tribute can conclude with an amusing fact about his choreography: he has not just got the best moves out of superlative performers like Kamal Hassan, Vijay, and Akshay Kumar; he has also brought dance-phobic actors like Mammootty (Johnny Walker), Ajay Devgn (Action Jackson), and to some extent, even Rajnikant (Baba) and Salman Khan (Wanted, Dabbang 2 and Radhe) to the dance floor and made them move a step or two.   

It is no mean feat that an artist could keep audiences enthralled for more than 30 years, and still come up with fresh and innovative creations. Very few in the world of cinema have such a record!