Raju_Sundaram

Raju Sundaram

Raju Sundaram

Indian choreographer, actor, director

Basuva Raju Sundaram is an Indian dance choreographer, actor and director, who works primarily in Tamil and Telugu films. He appeared as an actor in films like Jeans (1998), 123 (2002), I Love You Da (2002), Quick Gun Murugun (2009); and directed one film, Aegan (2008).

Quick Facts Born, Occupations ...

He won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in the song "Pranamam Pranamam" song from the film Janatha Garage (2016)[1] and "Padara Padara" song from the film Maharshi (2019).[2]

Personal life

Sundaram is the son of dancer Mugur Sundar, and the elder brother of choreographers Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.[3]

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's Roja (1992) and in Aasai (1995). He also regularly featured in cameo appearances in songs featuring his brother Prabhu Deva, with the pair making appearances in Shankar's early films Gentleman (1993) and Kadhalan (1994).[4] 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.[5] He then went on to become a choreographer of Tamil directors Mani Ratnam and Shankar, and worked on Amitabh Bachchan's album, Aby Baby (1996).

Shankar then offered Sundaram an acting opportunity in his romantic comedy Jeans (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 stated the film proves "serious acting is simply not his cup of tea".[6] After working on an unreleased film titled Colombus, he then went on to feature in the trilingual One Two Three (2003) alongside Jyothika and his brothers. The film opened to mixed reviews and did not perform well at the box office.[7][8] He has since primarily operated as a choreographer, making a few exceptions by starring in comic roles in Jeeva's Unnale Unnale (2007), Prabhu Deva's Engeyum Kadhal (2011) and in the Telugu film, Action 3D (2013).

Filmography

Choreographer

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Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Director

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Actor

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Dancer

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Awards

Won

Legacy

Choreographers and artists L. L. Cool Jayanth, Ashok Raja, Dinesh,[9] Sridhar,[10] Shobi Paulraj,[11] Baba Bhaskar,[12] Kalyan, Johny, Noble Paul,[13] Prem Rakshith, Jani,[14] 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.[15]

References

  1. [1]
    "64th National Awards" (PDF). dff.nic.in. 7 April 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
  2. [2]
    The Hindu Net Desk (22 March 2021). "67th National Film Awards: Complete list of winners". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
  3. [3]
    "It takes Raju to tango – HYDB". The Hindu. 3 January 2006. Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  4. [4]
    "rediff.com, Movies: Dancer in the dark: Raju Sundaram". Rediff.com. 4 December 2001. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  5. [5]
    "Raju Sundaram – Telugu Cinema interview – Telugu film choreographer". Idlebrain.com. 27 September 2005. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  6. [6]
    "I Love You Da". The Hindu. 13 December 2002. Archived from the original on 1 February 2003. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  7. [7]
    "In front of the camera!". Chennai Online. Archived from the original on 17 November 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  8. [8]
    "One Two Three". The Hindu. 7 June 2002. Archived from the original on 15 August 2002. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  9. [9]
    "Dinesh Master choreographer – the Official Site". Archived from the original on 14 August 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  10. [10]
    "Star Holiday (07/06/15) A day out with choreographer sridhar master [Epi – 8]". Youtube. 28 June 2015. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  11. [11]
    "Dance In His Genes:Shobi And His Inspirations". News Central. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.[permanent dead link]
  12. [12]
    "Virundhinar Pakkam Choreographer Baba Basker Dt 11-09-13". Youtube. 10 September 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  13. [13]
    "Choreographer Nobel Interview Part 1". Youtube. 16 June 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  14. [14]
    "Jani Master journey with director Shankar; from back dancer to choreographer". The Times of India. 18 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
  15. [15]
    "Adhu Idhu Yedhu – Johnny Master, Bobby Antony & Baba Bhaskar Groupla Doupe". Youtube. 14 November 2011. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
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