Flashback: PL Raj, the ace choreographer who made the stars find their feet

Many years ago, during the Ganpati festival, the Lewis family stepped out for dinner. A procession was on its way to immerse a Ganesh idol, swaying to the festival favourite Deva O Deva from the 1981 movie Hum Se Badhkar Kaun. The Lewis patriarch joined the revellers, who didn’t realise that the man dancing in their midst was the one who had choreographed the song’s hopping steps in the first place.

Peter Lewis Devraj, professionally known as PL Raj, was responsible for making numerous movie stars dance to his commands. Some of Hindi cinema’s most popular songs, which are till date blasted at every Ganpati or Janmashthami celebration, retro-themed party and office offsite, have indelible contributions by Raj.

His credits include Teesri Manzil, Sholay, Don, Intaqam, Sharmeelee, An Evening in Paris, Gumnaam, Sargam, The Great Gambler, Kaalia and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. He might not be as easily recognisable as the directors and actors with whom he collaborated for close to four decades. He isn’t a household name like, say, Helen, whom he directed in some of her best-known songs, or Amitabh Bachchan, whose long legs he put to excellent use. Yet, nostalgia for old Hindi films, lustful whistling for its song-and-dance sequences, and worship of its agile-footed actors indirectly pay homage to PL Raj.

Raj died on July 9, 2002, from...

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