Prabhu Deva seems to be the flavour of the moment in Bollywood. What makes the choreographer-turned-director a man with mass appeal?

Looks like Prabhu Deva is the man of the moment right now in Bollywood. The choreographer-turned-director has had a streak of good luck at the box office ever since he made his effortless transition to Bollywood. Sources say production houses are queuing up in a beeline to sign Prabhu for their upcoming projects.

A source says, `While he is already shooting for his Shahid Kapoor starrer Rambo Rajkumar, he has just completed Ramaiya Vastavaiya that marks the debut of Kumar Taurani's son. Post this, he will start work on his next with Ajay Devgn.`

Another Salman Khan starrer is on the anvil, produced by Ramesh Taurani. The South director has an astounding amount of Rs 200 crore riding on his back right now. The source adds, `With three major releases in 2013, he is already in talks with several other stars including Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan.

Prabhu in demand


So what makes Prabhu highly sought after? Viki Rajani, who is producing Shahid's film, credits the director's advance planning and strategising.

Says Viki, `He is a very planned person and his only focus in life is his work. He prefers to work without holidays and likes to be on top of things.`

The producer adds that while certain sections of the film have been shot, Prabhu has already started editing the footage.

Prabhu is apparently also a multi-tasker. Viki says, `With his energy, I am not surprised that every producer and actor wants to work with Prabhu.`

The timekeeper


According to Kumar Taurani, it is Prabhu's time-management skills that make him who he is today. Taurani states, `He is very sorted in his mind. He knows exactly what he wants to do, even before coming to the sets. This way neither the producer loses any time.

We started the film last September and wrapped up in January this year. I would love to work with him again.`

Trade speak:
Kumar TauraniSays trade expert Atul Mohan, `Filmmakers from the South target the mass audience and that's what makes them such big hits. Producers have realised their mass appeal in B and C centres. There are no Bollywood filmmakers who target the audiences in smaller centres exclusively, from where the major revenue comes in, barring a couple of them.`

South side story
And it's not just Prabhu but other South directors too whose work will hit the Bollywood marquee this year.

R Murugadoss for the remake of Thuppakki
Says the film's producer Vipul Shah, `Both Murugadoss and Prabhu are fantastic directors and they have proved time and again that they can successfully deliver hits across the country. I don't care for geographical tags and they are very professional, organised and nice people to work with.`


K S Ravikumar for Policegiri
Producer Rahul Aggarwal calls Ravikumar the `big boy of the South` and adds, `He has a 98 per cent hit record and is extremely professional. He is an expert at making over-the-top films, a trend that is currently working at the box office.`

Susi Ganesh has wrapped up his next Bollywood project (remake of his Tamil super hit Thiruttu Payale) with Neil Nitin Mukesh and Ameesha Patel. While Puri Jaggannath, Mani Rathnam and Shankar have already worked in Bollywood, SS Rajamouli, N Lingaswami, Selvaraghvan are the much-awaited names to showcase their talent here.