Prabhu Deva & Akshay Kumar Movies Together List — 3 Films

The shape of the work

Never on the same side of the camera — Prabhu Deva director, Akshay Kumar actor, across all 3 films.

Partnership facts

• Prabhu Deva was originally supposed to only choreograph Rowdy Rathore. Akshay Kumar pushed the producers to let Prabhu Deva direct it instead, after seeing his vision for the action sequences.
• On the sets of Rowdy Rathore, Akshay would do his own stunts but often ask Prabhu Deva to 'dance-fy' the fight moves. Prabhu would break down a punch into a rhythm, and Akshay would match that beat — making action scenes look like choreographed dance numbers.
• The success of Rowdy Rathore directly led to Prabhu Deva directing Akshay again in Singh Is Bling. But more importantly, it revived the 'masala action-comedy' genre in Bollywood — a template that later films like Sonakshi Sinha's action roles and even Tiger Shroff's debut borrowed from.
• During the shoot of Hey Bro, Akshay and Prabhu Deva would prank each other between takes. Once, Akshay hid Prabhu's director's chair; Prabhu retaliated by teaching the entire crew a Tamil dance step, making Akshay the only one who couldn't follow along.
• Akshay said about Prabhu Deva after Rowdy Rathore: 'He doesn't just direct — he dances the scene for you. I'd be doing a dialogue, and he'd be moving his hands in the background, showing me the rhythm of the line.'