Hyderabad: Director-choreographer Prabhu Deva turns a year older today. On the occasion of his birthday let us learn some interesting facts related to him.
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
Prabhu Deva was inspired by his father Mugur Sundar, a choreographer for South Indian movies. He took up dancing and learned Indian classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam from Dharmaraj and Udupi Lakshminarayanan as well as Western styles. Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are his brothers.
Very few people know about Prabhu Deva’s personal life. He had a love marriage with Ramlath who changed her name to Lata post marriage. However, they got separated in 2011. The couple had three children but sadly their elder son died of cancer in 2008.
In 2010, Ramlath filed a petition at the family court, seeking directions against Prabhu Deva for being in a live-in relationship with the actress Nayanthara. Furthermore, Ramlath threatened to go on a hunger strike if Prabhu Deva married Nayanthara.
Several women’s organisations conducted protests against Nayanthara for bringing disrepute to Tamil culture, burning an effigy of her. Ramlath and Prabhu Deva divorced in 2011. In 2012, Nayanthara confirmed that she had ended her relationship with the dancer.