Prabhu means master or the supreme lord in Sanskrit and many of the Indian languages; it is a name sometimes applied to God.

The term is also used by male devotees of the Hindu deity Lord Krishna/Vishnu as a title and form of address. If a man sees another male devotee whom he does not know, he will address him as "Prabhu". It is also appended after a devotee's name, for example "Madhava Prabhu".

It is also a common surname among Konkani speaking Saraswat Brahmins across the Konkan Coast in India, from Maharashtra to Kerala. Among the Goud Saraswat Brahmins, feudal lords were called Prabhu. The name is also in use among some Konkani Catholics who trace their ancestry to the Goud Saraswat Brahmins of Goa. According to historian Anant Ramkrishna Sinai Dhume, Prabhu was a title accorded to the representative of the main village of the taluka (district) committee. The Prabhus may have also occupied official posts in the central administration, without prejudice to their original posts which were hereditary. Traditionally, a Prabhu was a landlord and as such a master to the many agricultural labourers that were needed to cultivate his lands.

Prabhu Deva born 3 April 1973 is an Indian dancer, choreographer, film actor and director. He has performed in a wide range of dancing styles. He has also been labelled as Indian Michael Jackson and holds Michael Jackson as his dance idol.

Prabhu Deva was born in Mysore, Karnataka and grew up in Alwarpet, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Prabhu Deva was inspired by his father, Mugur Sundar (known as Sundaram Master), who was a choreographer for popular South Indian movies. Prabhu took dancing as his passion, learning Indian classical dance forms such as Bharatanatyam as well as Western styles. He is widely considered to be one of Indian cinema's greatest dancers and choreographers; Prabhu Deva has revolutionized some of the aspects of dance and choreography in modern popular Indian cinema. His brothers Raju Sundaram and Nagendra Prasad are also established South Indian choreographers.

Prabhu Deva's first movie as a choreographer was Vetri Vizha (1989). Before that, he had appeared as a background dancer for a song in the Tamil film Agni Natchathiram. He has since then choreographed in over 100 movies. From choreography, he went on to establish himself as an actor. His first film as an actor was Indhu (1994) with actress Roja. In 1999, Deva, Shobhana and A. R. Rahman performed with a Tamil cinema dancing troupe at the "Michael Jackson and Friends" concert in Munich, Germany. He has a significant fan following in the Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film industries. He acted alongside his brothers in the movie 123. As of 2010, he serves as chairman and director of the Prabhudeva's Dance Academy in Singapore. He planned to release his first video album called It is boring (in Tamil போருடா) in 2012. He is acting in lead role in the film ABCD (Any Body Can Dance), the first 3D dance film in India, co-starring with So You Think You Can Dance contestant Lauren Gottlieb.

Venkat Kumar Gangai Amaren (born on 7 November 1975), better known by his stage name Venkat Prabhu is an Indian filmmaker, who has worked as an actor, director and playback singer in the Tamil film industry. After completing his education, he began pursuing an acting career, with his first three ventures, featuring him in a starring role, failing to release, following which he began appearing in character roles. He hogged spotlight for the first time when he turned director with the summer hit Chennai 600028 (2007). He achieved further commercial successes with his subsequent directorials Saroja (2008) and Mankatha (2011).