Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan conveyed condolences on Saturday following the death of Tamil film music composer Deva.

In his condolence statement, Radhakrishnan described Deva as having established a recognisable place within Tamil cinema through a musical approach that was distinctly his own, including the gaana genre, whose songs were widely seen as reflecting the everyday lives and feelings of ordinary people.

According to the statement attributed to Radhakrishnan, Deva's body of work spans more than 400 films across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada — a breadth of output that has left an enduring mark on the broader landscape of Indian cinema.

Radhakrishnan expressed the view that Deva's work in gaana music — both his compositions and his broader artistic contribution to the genre — would remain a source of appreciation for music lovers across future generations. He noted that the composer's passing represented a notable absence for Tamil cinema and its musical landscape, and conveyed sympathy to Deva's family, relatives, friends, and those connected through the film industry and music community who are mourning the loss.

Composer Deva, who carried the title "Thenisai Thendral" throughout his career, died at a private hospital in Chennai on Saturday. He was born on 20 November 1950.

Deva's filmography included composing the soundtracks for Rajinikanth's Annamalai, Arunachalam, and Baasha — three productions that drew widespread box-office attention. His screen work in Tamil cinema dates to 1986, when Maatukaara Mannaru gave him his first composing credit. Over the years that followed, the gaana form — a style rooted in street-level folk traditions — became closely associated with his output. Beyond composing a number of tracks in the gaana catalogue, Deva also took on vocal duties for several of those recordings.

Just weeks before his death, Deva attended the success event for the Tamil film Meesaya Murukku 2, where he spoke about his reasons for bringing gaana songs into Tamil cinema. He noted that he had entered the industry as its 28th music director at a time when Ilaiyaraaja held a dominant position in the field, and that 27 music directors had preceded him in that position, none of whom had managed to hold it for long.

Deva noted that staying relevant at a time when two prominent figures — Ilaiyaraaja on one side and A.R. Rahman on the other — held sway over the musical landscape presented a significant challenge. He acknowledged that composers of the period tended to draw from one of two reference points: a classical Indian film music sensibility or a western-influenced sound, without arriving at a distinct voice of their own. Deva explained that those circumstances drove a personal desire to establish an identity, which led to his decision to bring gaana songs into his work.