Basuva Raju Sundaram (born 6 September 1968) is an Indian dance choreographer, actor and film director, who works primarily in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, Telugu films also appeared in

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

and

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

films. He appeared as an actor in films like ''

Jeans Jeans are a type of trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with the addition of copper pocket rivets added by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and patented by ...

'' (1998), '' 123'' (2002), '' I Love You Da'' (2002), '' Quick Gun Murugun'' (2009); and directed one film, '' Aegan'' (2008). He won the

National Film Award for Best Choreography The National Film Award for Best Choreography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (Sil ...

for his work in the song "Pranamam Pranamam" song from the film ''

Janatha Garage ''Janatha Garage'' () is a 2016 Indian Telugu-language vigilante action drama film written and directed by Koratala Siva and produced by Mythri Movie Makers. The film stars an ensemble cast including Mohanlal, N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Unni Mukund ...

'' (2016) and " Everest Anchuna" song from the film ''

Maharshi Maharishi (, ) is a Sanskrit word used for members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, popularly known in India as "seers", i.e., those who engage in research to understand and experience nature, divinity, and the divine context of exis ...

'' (2019).

Personal life

Sundaram is the son of dancer Mugur Sundar, and the elder brother of choreographers

Prabhu Deva Prabhu Deva (born 3 April 1973) is an Indian dance choreographer, film director, producer and actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil language, Tamil, Hindi and Telugu language, Telugu language films also appeared in few Kannada and Malayal ...

and

Nagendra Prasad Nagendra Prasad (born 19 December 1975) is an Indian people, Indian dance choreographer, actor and director who works in Tamil language, Tamil and Kannada films. He is the youngest son of dance master Mugur Sundar, and younger brother to popula ...

Career

Sundaram began his career assisting as a choreographer for his father Mugur Sundar's projects, before going on to lead troupes. He was a dancer in "Rukkumani Rukkumani" from

Mani Ratnam Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. H ...

's '' Roja'' (1992) and in ''

Aasai ''Aasai'' () () is a 1995 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film, written and directed by Vasanth and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar, Suvaluxmi and Prakash Raj, with Rohini, Poornam Viswanathan, Nizhalgal Ravi ...

'' (1995). He also regularly featured in cameo appearances in songs featuring his brother

, with the pair making appearances in Shankar's early films ''

Gentleman ''Gentleman'' (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man; abbreviated ''gent.'') is a term for a chivalrous, courteous, or honorable man. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire ...

'' (1993) and '' Kaadhalan'' (1994). After being the lead choreographer for a few Kannada films, his first break came through Mani Ratnam's '' Thiruda Thiruda'' (1993), where he was given the chance to design dances for three songs. He then went on to become a choreographer of Tamil directors Mani Ratnam and Shankar, and worked on

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

's album, ''Aby Baby'' (1996). Shankar then offered Sundaram an acting opportunity in his romantic comedy ''

'' (1998), where Sundaram played a full-length role. He played the lead in the sports drama '' I Love You Da'' (2002) alongside his former girlfriend and actress Simran. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' stated the film proves "serious acting is simply not his cup of tea". After working on an unreleased film titled ''Colombus'', he then went on to feature in the trilingual '' One Two Three'' (2003) alongside

Jyothika Jyothika Saravanan (; born 18 October 1978) is an Indian actress and producer who primarily works in Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films. She has received several accolades including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards South, four Tamil N ...

and his brothers. The film opened to mixed reviews and did not perform well at the box office. He has since primarily operated as a choreographer, making a few exceptions by starring in comic roles in Jeeva's ''

Unnale Unnale ''Unnale Unnale'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language musical film, musical romantic comedy film The movie is written, cinematograph and directed by Jeeva (director), Jeeva and produced by Oscar Ravichandran. It stars Vinay Rai, Vi ...

'' (2007),

's ''

Engeyum Kadhal ''Engeyum Kadhal'' () is a 2011 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Prabhu Deva that stars Ravi Mohan (credited as Jayam Ravi) and Hansika Motwani. Featuring music by Harris Jayaraj, it was produced by Kalpathi S. ...

'' (2011) and in the Telugu film, '' Action 3D'' (2013).

Filmography

Choreographer

Director

Actor

Dancer

Awards

;Won * 1994 Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer -'' Kaadhalan'' * 1997 Dinakaran Award for Best Dance Director – Many movies * 1998 Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer – ''

'' * 1998 Dinakaran Award for Best Dance Director – Many movies * 1999 Dinakaran Award for Best Dance Master – Many movies * 1999 Cinema Express Award for Best Dance Master – Many movies * 2000 Dinakaran Award for Best Dance Master – Many movies * 2004 Dinakaran-Medimix Award for Best Choreographer – ''

Ghilli ''Ghilli'' ( ) is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language sports action film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam. It is a remake of the Telugu film '' Okkadu'' (2003), written and directed by Gunasekhar, with few changes made to the st ...

'' * 2004 Filmfare Award for Best Choreography – South – ''Ghilli'' * 2009 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Choreographer – '' Villu'' * 2010 Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer – ''

Paiyaa ''Paiyaa'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film directed by N. Lingusamy and produced by N. Subash Chandra Bose under the banner Thirrupathi Brothers. The film stars Karthi and Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead roles, while M ...

'' * 2010 Filmfare Award for Best Choreography – South - ''Brindavanam'' * 2011 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Choreographer – ''

'' * 2013 Edison Award for Best Choreographer – ''

Biriyani Biryani () is a mixed rice dish originating in South Asia, made with rice, meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef) or seafood (prawns or fish), and spices. To cater to vegetarians, the meat or seafood can be substituted with vegetables or pane ...

'' *2016

-''

'' (for "Pranaamam") *2019 National Film Award for Best Choreography-''

'' (for " Everest Anchuna") * 2007 Vijay Award for Best Choreographer – ''

'' * 2010 Vijay Award for Best Choreographer – ''

Enthiran ''Enthiran'' () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film co-written and directed by S. Shankar. It is the first instalment in the ''Enthiran'' film series. The film stars Rajinikanth in dual lead roles as a scientist and th ...

'' * 2011 Vijay Award for Best Choreographer – ''Engeyum Kadhal'' * 2014 South Indian International Movie Award for Best Dance Choreographer – '' Anjaan'' * 2014 Vijay Award for Best Choreographer – '' Kaaviya Thalaivan''

Legacy

Choreographers and artists L. L. Cool Jayanth, Ravi Dev, Ashok Raja, Dinesh,

Sridhar Sridhar is a given name that is also sometimes used as a surname. Notable people with this name include: *Sridhar (actor), Indian actor in the Kannada film industry *Anup Sridhar, badminton player *C. V. Sridhar, screenwriter and film director *Sri ...

Shobi Paulraj Shobi Paulraj is an Indian choreographer in the Tamil film industry. He has also worked on some Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. He is the founder of IBO Dance Studio. Career After assisting choreographers such as Raju Sundaram, DKS Babu and C ...

, Baba Bhaskar,

Kalyan Kalyan (Pronunciation: əljaːɳ is a city on the banks of Ulhas River in Thane district of Maharashtra state in Konkan division. It is governed by Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation. Kalyan is a subdivision (Taluka) of Thane district ...

, Johny, Noble Paul, Prem Rakshith, Jani, Lalitha Shobi, Sathish Krishnan, Viji Sathish, Poppy, Japan Kumar, Sindhuja, Nanditha Jennifer, Raja, Shanthi Arvind, Anusha Swamy, Boopathy & Vasanthi had worked as dancers and assistants to him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundaram, Raju 20th-century Indian dancers 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian dancers 21st-century Indian male actors Best Choreography National Film Award winners Filmfare Awards South winners Indian film choreographers Indian male film actors Living people Male actors in Tamil cinema Place of birth missing (living people) Tamil film directors 1968 births