Veteran Tamil Film Composer Deva Dies at 75 in Chennai

17 October 2026National

Veteran Tamil film music composer and singer Deva, born Devanesan Chokkalingam, died in Chennai on 17 October 2026, aged 75. Popularly titled 'Thenisai Thendral', he scored for Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam cinema across roughly three decades, with his peak in the late 1980s and 1990s. He was known for folk-rooted melodies that carried local flavour into mainstream film music, working through the era shaped by Ilaiyaraaja and the rise of A. R. Rahman. Among his best-remembered scores are the Rajinikanth films Annamalai and Baasha, and the Vijay-starrer Kushi. His death drew wide tributes from the Tamil film industry.

Static GK

Deva was known by the honorific 'Thenisai Thendral', meaning the breeze of honeyed music | Tamil film music's modern era is associated with Ilaiyaraaja, a Padma Vibhushan awardee, and A. R. Rahman, who won two Academy Awards for Slumdog Millionaire in 2009 | The Sangeet Natak Akademi, established in 1952, is India's national academy for music, dance and drama

ShareWhatsApp Telegram

More General Current Affairs

B. Madhusoodana Kurup, Founding Vice-Chancellor of KUFOS, Dies at 71 in Kochi

Fisheries scientist B. Madhusoodana Kurup died of cardiac arrest at Kochi on 18 October 2026, aged 71. He was the founding Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), India's first university dedicated to fisheries and ocean studies, and later the third Vice-Chancellor of Shri Venkateshwara University at Gajraula, Uttar Pradesh. For more than 18 years he was Director and Professor at the School of Industrial Fisheries, CUSAT. He discovered eight freshwater fish species from the Western Ghats, guided 22 doctoral scholars and published over 250 research papers and 11 edited books, and held Nuffic and Marie Curie fellowships.

GK ByteKUFOS, established in 2010 at Panangad, Kochi, is India's first university dedicated to fisheries and ocean studies | The ICAR-Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture, whose research advisory committee Kurup chaired, is headquartered at Chennai | The Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, launched in 2020, is the Union government's flagship scheme for fisheries development

📅 19 Oct 2026GeneralRead complete →

Mridangam Maestro and Padma Shri Guruvayur Dorai Dies at 91 in Chennai

Guruvayur Dorai, among Carnatic music's foremost mridangam players, died in Chennai on 10 October 2026, aged 91. Born on 2 July 1935 at Guruvayur and left with polio at five, he gave his *arangetram* at eight accompanying Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar, and trained under Palghat Subbaiyar, E.P. Narayana Pisharody and Palani Subramania Pillai. A master of the Pudukottai style admired for his *gumki* bass resonance, he accompanied M.S. Subbulakshmi, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.D. Ramanathan and M. Balamuralikrishna across eight decades. He held the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, Kalaimamani and the Padma Shri (2025).

GK ByteThe mridangam is the principal percussion instrument (laya vadya) of Carnatic music, a double-headed barrel drum | Kalaimamani is conferred by the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram | The Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's national academy for music, dance and drama, was set up in 1952 with headquarters in New Delhi

📅 11 Oct 2026GeneralRead complete →

Veteran Actor and Padma Shri Nana Patekar Dies at 75

Nana Patekar, one of Hindi and Marathi cinema's most forceful actors, died on 8 October 2026 in Goa at the age of 75. Born Vishwanath Patekar on 1 January 1951 at Murud-Janjira, Maharashtra, he debuted in 'Gaman' (1978) and won three National Film Awards — Best Supporting Actor for 'Parinda', Best Actor for 'Krantiveer' and Best Supporting Actor for 'Agni Sakshi'. His directorial debut, 'Prahaar: The Final Attack' (1991), drew on training with the Maratha Light Infantry. He received the Padma Shri in 2013 and co-founded the Naam Foundation in 2015 with Makarand Anaspure for drought-hit Maharashtra farmers.

GK ByteThe National Film Awards were instituted in 1954 and are presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting | The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award of India, after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan | The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, instituted in 1969, is India's highest honour in cinema

📅 8 Oct 2026GeneralRead complete →

Soorya Krishnamoorthy, ISRO Scientist Turned Founder of Asia's Longest-Running Cultural Festival, Dies at 78

Soorya Krishnamoorthy, who left a two-decade ISRO career to found the Soorya Festival in 1977, died at Thiruvananthapuram on 23 September 2026, aged 78. A theatre director and cultural organiser, he spent more than twenty years with the Indian Space Research Organisation before turning to the arts full time. He founded the Soorya Festival under the Soorya Stage and Film Society, and the Limca Book of Records recognises it as Asia's longest-running cultural festival, drawing audiences and artists from more than 30 countries. His death came days after that of Vir Chakra awardee Flight Lieutenant Alfred Tyrone Cooke, in a month of notable Indian obituaries.

GK ByteISRO: Established 15 August 1969, headquartered at Bengaluru, Karnataka | Thiruvananthapuram: Hosts ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre | Kerala capital: Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum

📅 24 Sept 2026GeneralRead complete →

See all Obituary →All Current Affairs