How the gaana tag overshadowed Deva’s melodic genius

When Deva began popularising gaana songs in his films during the early 2000s, that genre became his singular identity, completely defining his legacy in the public eye. | Photo Credit: R. ASHOK

The opening scene of the recently-released film Lubber Pandhu. Inside a bus, the song Rasithan Kai Rasithan plays in Swarnalatha’s voice. Entranced by the music, a passenger joyfully praises Ilaiyaraaja, saying, “Raaja is Raaja after all.” Overhearing this, a student travelling in the same bus interjects, “Raaja is indeed Raaja. But this is a Deva song.”

Tamizharasan Pachamuthu, the film’s director, later mentioned in interviews that this scene was deliberately placed to shatter the widespread misconception that many of Deva’s compositions — particularly his soft, melodic tracks — were composed by someone else. To that extent, many songs composed by Deva were assumed to be the work of Ilaiyaraaja or other music directors.