Veteran composer Deva, known for Tholi Prema and Baashha, dies at 75

Veteran composer Deva, the man Tamil fans called Thenisai Thendral, died in Chennai on Saturday, October 17. He was 75.

He was taken to Surya Hospital at around 8.30 am after his health failed suddenly, and he died there. Details of the final rites have not been announced yet.

Born Devanesan Chokkalingam on November 20, 1950, Deva broke through in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Over more than three decades he scored hundreds of films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam, and he is best remembered for carrying gaana music into mainstream cinema.

His Tamil hits run from Annamalai and Baashha to Aasai, Kadhal Kottai, Nerukku Ner, Vaalee and Kushi, and Vijay and Ajith were among the stars he worked with. Reports say his Annamalai music still plays under the Super Star title card that opens Rajinikanth's films.

In Telugu, he scored Pawan Kalyan's Tholi Prema.

Khushbu Sundar posted on X that she was "absolutely devastated", writing that Deva had been healthy, laughing and with them just ten days ago. Vijay Sethupathi wrote that the composer's music and songs would "forever live in our memories". Actor Sibi Sathyaraj called him "a complete allrounder" and recalled how many films of the 90s and 2000s became blockbusters mainly because of his music.