At 46, Prabhu Deva Still Rules the Dance Floor Like No Other

As the ace choreographer rings in his birthday, we look at some of his iconic moves.

After over a 100 films as a choreographer, two National Awards for Best Choreography and many such honours, birthday boy Prabhu Deva continues to rule the dance floor with his body bending dance moves.

The legendary choreographer (and now filmmaker) started out as a background dancer in 1988. Deva’s first venture as a choreographer was the Kamal Haasan starrer Tamil film Vetri Vizah (1989). He hit the big leagues by displaying the elasticity of his body in the song Chikku Bukku Raile, composed by AR Rahman for the Tamil film Gentleman (1993).

Bollywood seriously sat up and took notice of Deva with the catchy AR Rahman number Kay Sera Sera from the film Pukar (2000). Madhuri Dixit and Prabhu Deva rocked the dance floor and even though the film didn’t make much of a mark, Deva’s choreography remains unforgettable. Even after over a decade, this number will make you smile!

The AR Rahman-Prabhu Deva connection has always worked wonders. Who can forget those stunning tunes and crazy moves? Remember Urvashi Urvashi from Hum Se Hai Muqabala, the dubbed version of the Tamil action-romance film Kadhalan (1994)? Prabhu Deva boogies on the city streets and stirs up quite a few body twisting steps. Watch below.

The western setting of Muqabala Muqabala with cowboys, horses, and saloons from Hum Se Hai Muqabala was way ahead of its time for Hindi cinema of the 90s. Deva’s invisible act stunned audiences and was a huge visual FX feat back then.

Deva and Kajol stirred up some serious romance in the Tamil film Minsara Kanavu (1997), dubbed in Hindi as Sapnay. Chanda Re Chanda Re sung by SP Balasubramaniam truly reflects Deva’s versatile dancing sensibilities. Watch how he effortlessly slips into a slower romantic number.

We bet no one looks as great dancing in reverse as master dancer Prabhu Deva. Now that’s some serious talent.

While most sequels can’t match up to their former counterparts, we can only be sure that his dance performance in Anybody Can Dance 2 was at par with his moves in the first installment. We leave you with this Happy Hour song that it will definitely add a spring to your step for the rest of the day.

(This article is from The Quint’s archives and was first published on April 3, 2015. It is now being republished to mark Prabhu Deva’s birthday.)