P. L. Raj

Peter Lewis Raj (born Devraj Peter Lewis; 10 August 1934 – 9 July 2002) was a noted Hindi cinema choreographer, who was the leading choreographer of 1960 and 70s Hindi cinema. He established face-paced dancing and cabaret-style dance numbers. He most known for his work with Helen, Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, most notably film like Junglee, Professor (1962), Teesri Manzil (1966), Intaquam (1969), Sholay (1975), and Don (1978). He choreographed over 1,000 films in Hindi as well as regional cinemas including Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Punjabi.

He was trained by dancer duo, Surya Kumar and Krishan Kumar who started training actors in Mumbai, after themselves receiving training from Azoorie, a popular dancer of early cinema. Other choreographer to come out of their training were Satyanarayan, Bapriprasad and many others.

Career Raj began his career in Bollywood in early 50s, a period when slow-paced dance sequences were phasing out and fast-paced rhythms were entering Hindi film music and along with it western dance moves.

His choreography played an important in made cabaret an important part in Hindi cinema, as well as making dancer-actress Helen a household name. He taught Bharatnatyam and Kathak dances to Helen, and later choreographed most of famous dance numbers in films including, "O Haseena Zulfonwali" (Teesri Manzil 1966), "Mungda" (Inkaar 1977), "Aa Jaane Jaan" (Intaquam, 1969), "Mehbooba Mehbooba" (Sholay 1975), "Yeh Mera Dil" (Don 1978). He also choreographed for blockbuster Sholay (1975) including songs like "Mehbooba Mehbooba" picturized on Helen, and "Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin, in which he planned several tricky bike movement involving Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra. He choreographed Bachchan again in hit-song "Khaike Pan Banaraswala" in Don (1978) and "Jahan Teri Yeh Nazar Hai" in Kaalia (1981), songs which established his signature moves.

He also worked in Telugu, Bengali, Marathi and Punjabi movies. His death was condoled by the Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India at the time, Smt. Sushma Swaraj.

Filmography Love Marriage screen name as (Raj) (1959) Chaudhary Karnail Singh (1960) Punjabi Movie Junglee (1961) Professor (1962) Meri Surat Teri Ankhen (1963) Mr. X in Bombay (1964) Chitralekha (1964) Mama Ji (1964) Punjabi Movie Mere Sanam (1965) Gumnaam (1965) Teesri Manzil (1966) Budtameez (1966) Shagird (1967) Patthar Ke Sanam (1967) Hare Kanch Ki Chooriyan (1967) An Evening in Paris (1967) Shikar (1968) Mere Hamdam Mere Dost (1968) Mera Naam Johar (1968) Kanyadaan (1968) Intaquam (1969) Pushpanjali (1970) Sharmeelee (1971) Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) Raja Jani (1972) Bombay to Goa (1972) Anokhi Ada (1973) Loafer (1973) Sholay (1975) Immaan Dharam (1977) Inkaar (1977) Kaala Aadmi (1978) Kasme Vaade (1978) Don (1978) Sargam (1979) The Great Gambler (1979) Shaan (1980) Alibaba Aur 40 Chor (1980) Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981) Kaalia (1981) Khud-Daar (1982) Dharam Kanta (1982) Shakti (1982) Sohni Mahiwal (1984) Saagar (1985) Sanam Bewafa (1991) Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992) Zamaana Deewana (1995) Kasam (2001)