Veteran composer and singer Deva, who scored more than 400 films, brought Chennai’s gaana into mainstream cinema and gave the music for Annamalai, Baashha and 14 Vijay films, died in Chennai on October 17, 2026, aged 75.
Veteran composer and singer Deva, who scored more than 400 films, brought Chennai’s gaana into mainstream cinema and gave the music for Annamalai, Baashha and 14 Vijay films, died in Chennai on October 17, 2026, aged 75.
Veteran music composer and singer Deva, loved by Tamil audiences as “Thenisai Thendral”, died in Chennai on Saturday, October 17, 2026. He was 75. He took ill on Saturday morning, was admitted to Surya Hospital in Kodambakkam at about 8:30 am and died of a heart attack despite treatment.
Deva’s signature was gaana — the street songs of North Chennai, with their quick wit and pounding rhythm. He brought gaana into mainstream film music and won over ordinary listeners with it, and he wrote and sang many gaana songs himself. Alongside it he gave Tamil cinema folk-flavoured dance numbers and gentle melodies, which is why his songs still play at weddings, festivals and street celebrations.
| Film | Why it is remembered |
|---|---|
| Annamalai (1992), Baashha (1995), Arunachalam (1997) | Iconic Rajinikanth soundtracks; the Baashha theme became one of Tamil cinema’s most recognisable tunes |
| Aasai (1995), Kadhal Kottai (1996), Vaalee (1999) | Melodies that helped Ajith Kumar’s rise |
| Avvai Shanmughi, Pammal K. Sambandam, Panchathanthiram | Comedy hits with Kamal Haasan |
| Nerrukku Ner (1997), Kushi (2000) | Chartbusters from Vijay’s rise to stardom |
Deva was the composer of Vijay’s early years. He scored 14 Vijay films, from his second film as hero in 1993 to Bhagavathi in 2002, and wrote the background score for Sivakasi (2005), whose songs were by his son Srikanth Deva:
| Year | Vijay film with music by Deva |
|---|---|
| 1993 | Sendhoorapandi |
| 1994 | Rasigan |
| 1995 | Deva |
| 1995 | Vishnu |
| 1996 | Maanbumigu Maanavan |
| 1997 | Kaalamellam Kaathiruppen |
| 1997 | Once More |
| 1997 | Nerrukku Ner |
| 1998 | Ninaithen Vandhai |
| 1998 | Priyamudan |
| 1999 | Nenjinile |
| 1999 | Minsara Kanna |
| 2000 | Kushi |
| 2002 | Bhagavathi |
Vijay even played the title role in “Deva” (1995), a film that shared the composer’s name. Deva himself sang “Thambi Konjam” in Rasigan (1994), and his songs for Kushi and Nerrukku Ner were among the biggest hits of Vijay’s romantic-hero years.
Deva’s son Srikanth Deva is a film composer, and his brothers Sabesh and Murali worked as the composer duo Sabesh–Murali; Sabesh died in October 2025.
A composer’s legacy is measured by how long people keep singing his songs. By that measure Deva will be with Tamil Nadu for a long time — in the gaana at a street festival, the Baashha theme at a cinema hall, and the Kushi songs that a generation of Vijay fans grew up with.
Deva Thenisai Thendral Tamil Film Music Gaana Obituary Day 161