Deva, one of the most prolific music directors in South Indian cinema, has died in Chennai. He was admitted to a private hospital at about 8.30 a.m. on Saturday (17) after falling ill and died later, Hiru News reported, citing Indian media.
His death is being mourned by his fans and across the Tamil film industry, the report said.
The composer who took gaana into the movies
Deva’s distinctive contribution was introducing and popularising the gaana style in Tamil film music — a percussive, street-rooted folk idiom from the working-class neighbourhoods of north Chennai, which until then had sat largely outside mainstream film scores.
His best-known films include Baashha, Annamalai, Nattamai, Aasai, Kadhal Kottai and Nerukku Ner. He wrote music for films starring Rajinikanth, Vijay and Ajith — the three biggest draws of Tamil cinema across the period of his career.
Among his most widely recognised songs are “Ra Ra Ramaiya” from Baashha, “Konja Naal Poru Thalaiva” from Aasai, and “Vellarikka Pinju Vellarikka” from Kadhal Kottai.
Why this matters in Sri Lanka
Tamil cinema is followed closely across Sri Lanka’s Tamil-speaking communities, and this desk has covered the deaths of other major figures from the industry — the director Bharathiraja, who died in June and received state honours, and the screenwriter and filmmaker K. Bhagyaraj.
One of the actors Deva wrote for is now the politician who would decide on any such honours. Vijay was sworn in as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu in May. When Bharathiraja died, Vijay’s government accorded him state honours. Whether Deva receives the same has not been reported.
Not reported
Hiru’s filing gives no cause of death beyond an unspecified illness, does not name the hospital, and does not state Deva’s age or his birth name. It does not say how many films he scored in total, name any surviving family, or give funeral arrangements.
No verified newsroom other than Hiru had filed on his death at the time of writing, so this article rests on a single source. Several Indian entertainment outlets that this desk does not treat as verified report his age as 75 and attribute the hospital admission to chest pain; neither detail is confirmed here and both are left out of the account above.
Tamil Guardian, which published obituaries for both Bharathiraja and K. Bhagyaraj, had not filed at the time of writing and is worth re-testing, as are the Indian national outlets, for an account carrying his age, full name and career totals.
Sources: Hiru News (Sinhala, citing Indian media).
