Deva: a well-rounded composer bids goodbye

Music director Deva. File | Photo Credit: R. Ashok

In the 1990s, when Tamil film music largely reflected a duopoly vested with the established Ilaiyaraaja and the emerging A.R. Rahman, Deva stepped up and carved his own unique path. This was never easy, as Maragathamani and Vidyasagar were also trying to shape an identity for themselves.

Once Deva found his spotlight through Vaigasi Poranthachu in 1989, one of his early movies as a music composer, he turned prolific. There was an earthy twang to his notes, and he was the first to tap into the gaana form that was prevalent in the bylanes of north Madras.

Deva also specialised in peppy music that became part of Rajinikanth’s elevation zone in films like Annamalai and Baashha. The latter’s background score is spoken of even now, and the acoustic aura shadowing the superstar is something that is now innate to even modern-day musicians like Anirudh Ravichander.