On Saturday, Rajinikanth visited the home of music composer Deva to offer condolences following the latter's death. Deva had died earlier that same day. Footage captured outside the home showed Rajinikanth arriving to pay his respects.

The collaboration between Deva and Rajinikanth produced compositions that remained with listeners long after the films concluded. Scores from three Tamil films closely associated with Rajinikanth's public profile — Annamalai (1992), Baashha (1995), and Arunachalam (1997) — had all been composed by Deva. A distinctive musical cue tied to Rajinikanth's screen appearances became a recognised element of how his films introduce him to audiences.

Deva's screen credits extended across more than 400 productions in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada — a body of film scoring work that earned him the title 'Thenisai Thendral'. He was born on November 20, 1950.

Condolences and tributes for Deva spread across social media platforms, drawing responses from politicians, figures in the film industry, and members of the public who followed his work.

Actor Kamal Haasan described being taken aback by the loss, noting that his close friend Deva had carried a lively energy and a gift for humour. In a statement, Haasan referred to Deva as a dear brother whose passing had left him at a loss for words. Those who spent time around Deva described a natural warmth and a tendency to find humour in any moment and turn it into shared laughter.

In a written tribute, Kamal Haasan reflected on the collaborative work he and Deva had shared across productions including Avvai Shanmugi, Pammal K. Sambandam, and Panchatanthiram, describing those experiences as a source of fond recollection. He also extended words of sympathy to Deva's family.

On the social media platform X, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin — who also leads the DMK — conveyed his grief at Deva's death, describing the late artist as someone who carried no envy or dishonesty in his nature. Stalin noted that Deva's work had brought the Gaana genre into the mainstream of film music, to the point where the style had become closely identified with his name.

Stalin added that Deva had moved from a modest rural upbringing to Chennai and built a place among the foremost music directors in South Indian cinema, a path that many in the industry had looked to as an example. In his tribute, Stalin also noted that Deva had scored films starring many of the industry's leading actors, and that this body of work had contributed to those productions finding their audience.