Prabhu Deva

After a series of cameo appearances in songs from Tamil films, Deva was given his first lead role by director Pavithran in the romantic drama film Indhu (1994). Appearing alongside actress Roja and Sarathkumar, Deva's ability to dance was fully utilised in the song sequences, with gaana and disco music thereafter being regularly featured in his films. He made his breakthrough as an actor with Shankar's sophomore film, the romantic drama Kadhalan (1994), where he portrayed a young student who first stands up against his lover's father and then an international terrorist.[10] The film was highly lauded for its technical prowess and went on to win four National Film Awards, while A. R. Rahman's songs and Deva's choreography, especially in the songs "Mukkabla" and "Urvasi Urvasi", became very popular across India.[12] Despite starring relative newcomers, the film went on to become the highest grossing Tamil film of 1994 and the commercial success made Deva a bankable actor.[13] The film also saw success through its dubbed Telugu and Hindi versions, creating a market for Deva in other Indian regional industries.

While his next project Raasaiyya (1995) garnered poor reviews and collections, he continued to attract big-budget films and worked in two further films with music by Rahman in 1996, Love Birds and Mr. Romeo. Shot extensively in London, Love Birds received a wide theatrical release in overseas destinations and won Deva positive reviews for his portrayal.[14] Meanwhile, for Mr. Romeo, Deva charged a comparatively high ₹60 lakhs for his remuneration and appeared in a double role alongside Shilpa Shetty and Madhoo. The music and dance portions of both films were praised by critics, though both endured middling performances at the box office.[15][16]

Deva won critical acclaim for his role in Rajiv Menon's romantic drama Minsara Kanavu (1997), where he portrayed a streetwise hairstylist who inadvertently attracts the attention of a young woman, who he tries to help set up with another man. Featuring Deva alongside Arvind Swamy and Kajol, the film went on to win four National Film Awards, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and a Filmfare Award mostly for the film's soundtrack by Rahman. Meanwhile, Deva also won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in the song "Vennilave".[17] A critic from Indolink.com wrote: "it is easy to become a fan of Prabhu Deva after this movie if you are not one yet", while Rediff.com referred to his performance as "graceful".[18][19] Minsara Kanavu performed well at the box office and also had a wide release in Hindi, under the title Sapnay. His following release, the romantic comedy V. I. P. (1997), featuring an ensemble cast of Abbas, Simran and Rambha also did well commercially.[20][21] Indolink.com described the film as "probably the feel-good movie of 1997", adding that "this movie is important as its probably the coming of age for Prabhu Deva" and that "he has definitely matured since his Kadhalan days and shows a lot more restraint and a little flair for comedy".[22] During the period, Deva also signed a big-budget bilingual Hindi and Tamil production titled Mazhai Vara Poguthey opposite Juhi Chawla. Despite beginning production, the film was later cancelled.[23][24]

Deva continued to win critical acclaim and commercial success with his roles in the comedy film Kaathala Kaathala (1998), co-starring Kamal Haasan and the drama film Ninaivirukkum Varai (1999). Regarding his performance in the latter film, a reviewer from Indolink.com cited that "Prabhu Deva gets a wonderful script and character that he's comfortable in".[25] He subsequently went on to feature in the Guinness World Record-setting film Suyamvaram (1999) and Vikraman's successful family drama film Vaanathaippola (2000), where critics praised his "histrionic abilities".[26]

In the early 2000s, Deva actively began to work on more smaller-budget comedy films as his appeal at the box office began to decline. Despite winning critical acclaim for his performance as a bus conductor in Eazhaiyin Sirippil (2000) and commercial success with his work in Sundar C's Ullam Kollai Poguthae (2001), Manadhai Thirudivittai (2001) and Charlie Chaplin (2002), many of his other Tamil films during the period did not perform well financially.[27] In this period, he also notably worked on the film One Two Three, The Winners (2002) along with Jyothika and real-life brothers, Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad,[28] as well as Siddique's successful hit Engal Anna (2004), with Vijayakanth. Subsequently, Deva moved on to prioritise acting roles in different industries, notably starring in off-beat roles in the Kannada film H₂O (2002), alongside Upendra and the Hindi film Agni Varsha (2002), with Amitabh Bachchan. He also worked extensively in the Telugu film industry, appearing in multi-starrer films or as the second lead actor, in projects including Santosham (2002), Kalyana Ramudu (2003) and Andaru Dongale Dorikite (2004).[29]

The President, Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Padma Shri Award to Prabhu Deva, at an Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on 11 March 2019

Following the success of his directorial ventures, Deva actively began to appear in fewer acting roles. He portrayed leading roles in the dance film Style (2006). Deva also portrayed a supporting role in Santosh Sivan's Malayalam historical drama film Urumi (2011), featuring in an ensemble cast including Prithviraj, Arya and Genelia D'Souza. The film opened to critical acclaim, while Deva was highly appreciated for his performance with a critic from The Hindu noting: Deva "excels with his standout comic repartee".[30][31] He continued to make occasional appearances and portrayed leading roles in the dance films Style (2006), ABCD (2013) and its sequel ABCD 2 (2015). The films all performed well commercially, with a critic writing: "regarded as the dance legend by many, Prabhu is, expectedly, incomparable in dances, but the good news is that he handles the dramatic scenes well too" for his performance in ABCD.[32]

Deva returned to Tamil cinema as an actor after a gap of 11 years with the 2016 film Devi, joining hands with director A. L. Vijay.[33] The film was also simultaneously shot in Hindi and Telugu, titled Abhinetri and Tutak Tutak Tutiya.[34][35] In 2017, Deva acted in Thangar Bachan's film Kalavaadiya Pozhuthugal. In 2017, he released a comedy driven heist film Gulaebaghavali (2018) in Pongal festival.[36] Followed by silent film, Mercury (2018) and musical dance Lakshmi (2018).[37][38] In 2019, Charlie Chaplin 2 was released, which is a sequel to 2002 film Charlie Chaplin.[39] He also debuted as a lyricist in the film.[40] After that Deva appeared in Devi 2, which is a sequel of Devi.[41] The film was simultaneously shot in Telugu as Abhinetri 2 and Khamoshi directed by Chakri Toleti, both co-starring Tamannaah.[42][43]

In 2021, Deva directed Salman Khan in Radhe, a remake of the 2017 South Korean film, The Outlaws.[44][45]