Skip to content

All the news that matters, in plain English.

Latest
  1. Mourners march to Parliament House in honour of Jayda Allen Bonner
  2. Delegates walk out as Russian minister speaks at IMF meeting, sources say
  3. Man convicted over arson attacks on Starmer properties deported, Home Office says
  4. Boy, 16, and man, 80, killed in light aircraft crash near Drymen
  5. Reform councillor Alan Feeney quits all council posts over racist remarks
  6. India rejects UN rapporteur's youth report as 'hearsay' at UNGA
  7. Aurangzeb says Pakistan secured on energy through November as Gulf attacks cloud outlook
  8. Magnitude 5.7 earthquake strikes near Khuzdar in Pakistan's Balochistan

Celebrity

Tamil music composer Deva, 'Thenisai Thendral', dies at 75

Veteran Tamil film music composer Deva, whose songs and background scores defined an era of Tamil cinema, has died in Chennai at 75.

By Maya Lindqvist · · 1 min read

Music composer Deva, 'Thenisai Thendral', garlanded and speaking at a podium at an event in 2024
Santhosh2903, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Veteran Tamil film music composer Deva, affectionately known as “Thenisai Thendral”, has died in Chennai at the age of 75.

The composer, born Devanesan Chokkalingam, passed away on Saturday at a private hospital in Kodambakkam, Chennai, following a heart attack, according to DT Next. Mathrubhumi English reported that he was taken to Surya Hospital at around 8:30 am on Saturday, with some reports attributing his death to cardiac arrest.

Actress Khushbu Sundar paid tribute, writing that she was “absolutely devastated”, noting she had met the composer just 10 days before his death. News of the veteran’s demise sent shockwaves through the film industry, with colleagues and fans expressing grief over his death.

Over a career spanning more than three decades, Deva composed songs and background scores for more than 400 films across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada cinema. He delivered several hit songs for films starring Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay and Ajith Kumar, with his scores for the Rajinikanth blockbusters “Annamalai” and “Baashha” becoming part of the star’s screen identity.

Deva is credited with bringing Chennai’s gaana street-music tradition into mainstream Tamil film soundtracks, a signature that set him apart when the industry was dominated by Ilaiyaraaja and A R Rahman.

Sources:

More on this topic: all Celebrity stories

Get Flip News by email

This opens your email app — we add you manually. No account, no spam, no third parties.