Raghava Lawrence

Raghava Lawrence, also known as Lawrence Raghavendra, is an Indian actor, dancer, dance choreographer, director, and playback singer. Lawrence appeared in a song sequence from the film Samsara Sangeetham (1989). After that, he acted in Donga Police (1992), also dancing along with Prabhu Deva. Passionate about dancing, he appeared in the popular song Gentleman (1993) as a background dancer. He further acted in Rakshana (1993), Mutamestri (1993), and Allari Priyudu (1993). Noticing his dancing talent, actor Chiranjeevi gave him a chance to choreograph dance items for Hitler (1997) and Master (1997). After that, producer TVD Prasad cast him as the male lead in his film Speed Dancer (1999). Lawrence continued to play minor roles in Tamil films, such as Unnai Kodu Ennai Tharuven (2000) and Parthen Rasithen (2000). In 2001, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Dance Choreographer - South for Paarthale Paravasam (2001). Incidentally, this was Director K. Balachander's 100th film. He then played the male lead in Arputham (2002) and a cameo in Thendral (2004). Lawrence became a debutant director with the Telugu film Mass (2004), starring Jyotika and Nagarjuna Akkineni. He got his big break with the Telugu film Style (2006). This film won him the Filmfare Award for Best Dance Choreographer - South and the Nandi Award for Best Choreographer. Raghava continued to act in more films, including Pandi (2008), Rajadhi Raja (2009), and Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam (2010). He then directed, wrote, and starred in Kanchana: Muni 2 (2011). He directed Rebel (2012), starring Tamannaah Bhatia and Prabhas. He also appeared in Kanchana 2 (2015), Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva (2017), and Sivalinga (2017), which was remade from the original Kannada film of the same name. He continued with the Kanchana series, again writing, directing, and acting in Kanchana 3 (2019). In 2020, Lawrence debuted as a Bollywood director with the Hindi film Laxmii (2020). This was a remake of Kanchana: Muni 2 (2011).