Deva, the composer who took Chennai’s gaana to mainstream cinema, is no more

Deva, the composer who took Chennai’s gaana to mainstream cinema, is no more left Music director Deva. File R. Ashok The Hindu https://th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/pwr747/article71595683.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/Music_Director_Deva_05.jpg ASHOK R MADURAI, TAMIL NADU, 19/07/2017: Music director Deva during the interview with The Hindu Metroplus, in Madurai on July 19,2017. Photo: R. Ashok Deva’s music bridged seemingly disparate worlds — the earthy rhythms of Chennai’s gaana tradition, the mass appeal of Tamil cinema, and the melodic richness of classical and devotional music CHENNAI Tamil film music composer Deva, who brought gaana music into mainstream cinema and whose songs and background scores for Rajinikanth-starrers such as Annamalai, Arunachalam, and Baashha became hugely popular, died on Saturday (October 17, 2026), aged 75. Hospital sources said he had no pulse when he arrived and efforts to revive him remained futile.