Raju Sundaram

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).

He won the National Film Award for Best Choreography for his work in the song "Pranamam Pranamam" song from the film Janatha Garage (2016) and "Everest Anchuna" song from the film Maharshi (2019).

Personal life
Sundaram is the son of dancer Mugur Sundar, and the elder brother of choreographers Prabhu Deva and Nagendra Prasad.

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). 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'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". 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. 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).

Awards

 * Won
 * 1994 Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer -Kadhalan
 * 1997 Dinakaran Award for Best Dance Director – Many movies
 * 1998 Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Choreographer – Jeans
 * 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
 * 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
 * 2010 Filmfare Award for Best Choreography – South - Brindavanam
 * 2011 Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Choreographer – Engeyum Kadhal
 * 2013 Edison Award for Best Choreographer – Biriyani
 * 2016 National Film Award for Best Choreography-Janatha Garage (for "Pranaamam")
 * 2019 National Film Award for Best Choreography-Maharshi (for "Everest Anchuna")
 * 2007 Vijay Award for Best Choreographer – Unnale Unnale
 * 2010 Vijay Award for Best Choreographer – Enthiran
 * 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, Ashok Raja, Dinesh, Sridhar, Shobi Paulraj, Baba Bhaskar, Kalyan, 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.