Chief Minister Vijay said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the death of composer Deva, who gave music to 14 of his films, and called it a great loss to Tamil cinema.
Chief Minister Vijay said he was shocked and deeply saddened by the death of composer Deva, who gave music to 14 of his films, and called it a great loss to Tamil cinema.
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay expressed deep grief at the death of veteran composer Deva, “Thenisai Thendral”, who died in Chennai on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at the age of 75.
“I was deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Deva.”
Quote and points from the Chief Minister’s statement (translated from Tamil).
For the Chief Minister, the loss is also personal. Deva was the composer of his early career, scoring 14 Vijay films between Sendhoorapandi (1993) and Bhagavathi (2002), including hits such as Nerrukku Ner, Priyamudan and Kushi. Vijay also played the title role in “Deva” (1995), a film set to Deva’s music that carried the composer’s own name — see the full list ›
Governor R.V. Arlekar, Kamal Haasan, lyricist Vairamuthu and leaders across political parties joined the Chief Minister in paying tribute. Deva is survived by his son, composer Srikanth Deva, and his brother Murali.
Deva’s songs gave a voice to the streets of Chennai and a soundtrack to the rise of a generation of Tamil stars. As the Chief Minister said, they will remain in the history of Tamil film music.
CM Vijay Condolence Deva Tamil Cinema Thenisai Thendral Day 161