'Thenisai Thendral' Deva, renowned Tamil music director, passes away

CHENNAI: Renowned Tamil music director Deva (75) passed away on Saturday. He breathed his last at 8:30 AM today while undergoing treatment for health issues at a private hospital in Chennai. Deva was one of the few remaining titans of 90s Tamil music who had an illustrious career that covered over 400 films across languages ​​including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, and Kannada. He also lent his voice to songs for numerous films.

Due to his unique works and compositions, Deva even earned the moniker "Thenisai Thendral" (gentle breeze of sweet music) from legend MS Viswanathan. It was Deva who first brought Gaana songs — the street folk music of North Chennai into mainstream movies.

Some of the hit films for which he composed music include *Annamalai*, *Baashha*, *Arunachalam*, *Kushi*, *Aasai*, *Kadhal Kottai*, *Vaali*, *Ninaithen Vandhai*, *Priyamudan*, and the Malayalam film *Phantom* (starring Mammootty). Deva also appeared as an actor in films such as *Summa Irunga Machan*, *Unnidathil Ennai Koduthen*, *Chinna Raja*, *Vaani Mahal*, *Adi Thadi*, *Englishkaran*, *Mothi Vilaiyadu*, and *Sooriyan Satta Kalloori*.

Deva had received numerous awards, including the 'Kalaimamani' award from the Government of Tamil Nadu. He was also honoured with the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for his music direction in the film 'Aasai'. Music director Srikanth Deva is his son; his other children are Sabesh and Murali.