Chennai: Veteran Film music composer and director Devanesan Chokkalingam, also called Deva, passed away in Chennai today. He was 75. Known as Thenisai Thendral, he was one of the prominent composers in Tamil Cinema and was well known for his folk-based tunes. He established himself as a composer for three decades in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s and 1990s. Deva, as a composer, brought in the local flavour to film music.
Gaana music, with unique and distinct expression with linguals and also the rhythm, was his signature, which echoed with the local culture and impressed the audience with a casual approach and genre displaying all the moods in a movie. His music in Superstar Rajinikanth’s blockbuster Annamalai, Baasha and also in Vijay’s blockbuster Kushi remains evergreen.
[AIR news]