Choreographer-cum-director Remo D’Souza (sitting, in white) has cast Prabhu Deva in the lead in Any Body Can Dance

It has been a crazy few months for ace choreographer, director and actor Prabhu Deva. Like a whirling dervish he has, by turn, danced, directed and acted in three projects, one after another. And the pace isn’t likely to slow down in the coming months.

In Singapore, Deva set the stage afire at the 13th International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) 2012 ceremony. He choreographed a performance by some of Bollywood’s biggest names and also did a rip-roaring act based on his all-time hits.

As a director too, he’s on a spectacular roll. His super-hit Rowdy Rathore has raked in Rs 132 crore and the money’s still coming in. The blockbuster has also marked the comeback of actor Akshay Kumar as a no-holds-barred action hero.

Deva reckons he needs a vacation but not just yet. There’s heaps more on his plate in coming months. “With the success of Rowdy Rathore, Prabhu Deva has found a firm footing in Bollywood,” says Bollywood film critic Komal Nahta.

He’s been busy in front of the camera too and is rushing through the post-production of a Bollywood film titled ABCD (Anybody Can Dance) directed by well-known choreographer Remo D’Souza. Deva’s the smart-stepping lead character. And the moment ABCD is done, Deva moves on to his latest project — directing a musical love story produced by TIPS.

“First it was the IPL, then Rowdy Rathore and IIFA which kept me on my toes,” says Deva relaxing on the balcony of his Chennai flat. He says the day and night toil has taken its toll — he has lost 10kg and is now down to a svelte 67 kg.

Rowdy Rathore is Deva’s second Bollywood film and it has cemented his position in Mumbai as a director with the magic touch. His first film, Wanted, starring Salman Khan was also a hit. “The success of Rowdy Rathore has certainly positioned Prabhu Deva as one of the most sought after, and saleable, directors in Bollywood,” says Nahta.

Nahta believes Deva has got the entertainment formula just right. “As a director, Prabhu Deva has the right mix of action and comedy which really went down well with all strata of society. That’s not easy to achieve,” says Nahta.

What made all the difference, Nahta says, is that Rowdy Rathore did well both in small town cinema theatres and also in multiplexes.

So, it’s hardly surprising that Deva has a number of Bollywood assignments lined up. He will team up once again with Akshay Kumar — and will also be doing a dance number — for his film called Oh My God in which Akshay will again be pairing with Sonakshi Sinha.

He’ll also be staying behind the camera as director in Namak, starring Shahid Kapoor, which is based on the drug trade in Madhya Pradesh.

Rowdy Rathore, with Akshay Kumar (above, second from left, in blue) and Sonakshi (right), gave Prabhu Deva his second big Bollywood hit after Wanted

Not surprisingly, Deva’s now scouting for a house in Mumbai, where he’s spending most of his time nowadays. “Instead of staying in a hotel I’m looking for my own place,” he says.

At home in Chennai, Deva’s dressed in a blue and black check shirt teamed with faded denims. A bouquet of flowers lies on his table and the stream of congratulatory messages hasn’t stopped flowing ever since Rowdy Rathore hit the big time.

Deva doesn’t seem surprised or excited by his success. He’s a man of few words and talks mostly in monosyllables.

Deva reckons the request to direct Rowdy Rathore, coming as it did from producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali, was an offer he couldn’t refuse. “When a fine director like Bhansali came all the way to Chennai, I wanted to do the film at once,” he says emphatically.

The film is a remake of the Telugu action thriller Vikramarkudu which was made into a Tamil movie, Siruthai. Then, it was turned into a Kannada film, Veera Madakari, and in Bengali it was called Bikram Singha.

While Bhansali’s known for serious cinema, he wanted Deva to direct a masala film. “What made the film work was entertainment, action, comedy and all emotions in a right balance,” says Deva. In the movie, Deva makes a brief appearance dancing with Akshay in the song, Chinta Ta. He explains: “When I’m directing a film I can’t do any more than appear in a song.”

Deva will be doing what he does best — dancing and playing a dance teacher in ABCD, which will be India’s first movie shot in a 3D format with Hollywood technicians. “When Remo came up with a movie about dance with some of India’s best dancing talents I said yes even without seeing the script,” says the actor-cum-choreographer.

For D’Souza who always admired Deva’s dance and work, the Tamil choreographer was essential in the film. “Deva knows all the nuances of acting, directing and dancing, so he was the only person who could do justice to the role,” he says. “Despite being one of the finest dancers in India, he never makes you feel he’s bigger,” he adds.

Since Deva’s Hindi is not great, D’Souza would explain scenes to him in English before they started. Similarly, when Deva was directing Rowdy Rathore, someone would translate the dialogues and he would then tell the cast in English what he wanted. But Deva insists language is not a barrier to bringing a story to life.

Prabhu Deva set the stage on fire with his performance at the 13th International Indian Film Academy Awards in Singapore

Deva reckons what keeps him going is that he has never been afraid of working hard. “I didn’t really have to struggle in the industry but I’ve never shied away from hard work,” he says. On busy days, he still works from 6.30 in the morning to 9.30 at night.

“I can do nothing better than dance,” confesses Deva who started learning Bharatanatyam when he was eight. He learnt other dance forms by watching TV, movies and his idol Michael Jackson’s music videos.

Deva’s father Mugur Sundar was a highly sought-after Tamil choreographer and always backed his son, even when he failed his 11th standard exams. “He didn’t scold me or force me to study further. Instead, he gave me the choice of joining the film industry and helping him,” recalls Deva.

“Had I not been a choreographer I would have become nothing more than a traffic cop or peon in an office,” says a modest Deva.

Deva’s first break came in Vetri Vizha in 1989 as an independent choreographer. He had to choreograph Kamal Haasan and was a little nervous. “I was relieved when the dance turned out extremely well and it gave me more confidence,” says Deva.

His first brief stint in front of the cameras was in 1990, when he performed as one of the group dancers in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film, Agni Natchatiram.

Deva once again faced the camera when he was choreographing the songs for Idhayam in 1991. The director was so impressed with his dancing that he decided to film his dance in a song called April Mayile. This song got Deva noticed and next came a number titled Chikku Bukku Raiyle from a Tamil movie called Gentleman in 1993.

Later, Deva was offered an acting role in 1994 for a film Indhu. The following year, an offer came from leading Tamil film industry director Shankar who cast Deva as the hero in Kadhalan which became a blockbuster and paved the way to Deva’s stardom. In Hindi, the movie became Humse Hai Muqabala.

After that he scored big with Kajol and Arvind Swamy in Minsara Kanavu in 1997 — dubbed as Sapnay in Hindi and also a hit.

The film won Deva his first National Award for the choreography of the song, Vennilave Vennilave. Deva’s next big Bollywood break came in 2000 when he choreographed and danced with Madhuri Dixit in the song Que Sera Sera from Rajkumar Santoshi’s film Pukar.

Apart from Tamil and Telugu films, Deva also did the choreography in films like Shakti: The Power, Agni Varsha in 2002 and Khushi in 2003 and the blockbuster film No Entry.

Choreographing the song, Main Aisa Kyun Hun, for Farhan Akhtar’s Lakshya won Deva his second National Award and his first Filmfare Award. Down south in 2005, Deva made his debut as a director with the highly successful Telugu film, Nuvvostanante Neno-ddantana. Once again Deva bagged two Filmfare Awards for best film and best choreography.

More recognition came Deva’s way with Tamil films like Pokkiri in 2006, and Telugu film Shankardada Zindabad in 2007. Also in 2007, his Tamil film Villu became a hit and his first Bollywood film Wanted became a hit in 2009.

He’s occasionally been referred to as India’s answer to Michael Jackson but he dismisses such comparisons. For Deva, meeting Michael Jackson in Mumbai in 1995 was a dream come true.

For budding dancers, Deva has launched Prabhudeva Dance Academy in Singapore. He had plans for another school in India but his busy schedule hasn’t allowed it yet. “I hardly get the time to visit the Singapore school so I don’t want to start one here unless I am able to devote time to it.”

What’s next? A music album’s in the pipeline. “It’ll be called Bore Da,” says Deva, who has recorded one song. He wants the album to have five songs but still hasn’t had time to record them.

Doing Bollywood projects doesn’t mean Prabhu Deva will ignore Tamil or Telugu cinema. “Whenever there is work here I’ll be back,” he says.

After working as a director, choreographer and actor and even a singer will he try his hand at being a producer? “Never,” says Deva, firmly. And even though he’s focusing on directing for the time being, he says his priorities are clear: “Dancing and choreographing will always come first.”