Deva, an experienced music composer, has died | Live updates of the funeral

“Every music composer has his own style and is associated with a particular genre of music. I am from Chennai and gaana is inseparable from Chennaites… It may sound crude but the musicality of this genre is very deep,” said the composer, known as Thenisai Thendral Deva, in an interview with The Hindu.

Born Devanesan Chokkalingam, Deva worked in the Tamil Nadu Government’s Public Works Department (PWD) before entering the film industry. His debut as a film music composer was Mattukkara Mannaru in 1986; although the film flopped at the box office, its songs later gained popularity. It was Vaikasi Poranthachu (1990) that brought him wider recognition and his first Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Music Director, and Annamalai (1992) starring Rajinikanth which proved to be his turning point, with all his songs becoming chartbusters.