Krishnaraj Ramasamy

Krishnaraj Ramasamy was a Tamil playback singer whose voice became one of the most familiar in Tamil cinema from the 1990s onward, largely through his long partnership with the composer Deva. He died in Chennai on 22 October 2026 at the age of 75, only days after Deva himself had passed away, a loss that left the Tamil film music community reeling.

Krishnaraj's path into music was unusual. He worked as a weaver before turning to singing, and his first recorded song was for Adhikaalai Subavelai, an unreleased film composed by Deva. That early connection grew into a decades long working relationship, and through the 1990s Krishnaraj sang at least one song in most of Deva's films. He is remembered for songs such as "Vellarikka Pinju Vellarikka" from Kadhal Kottai, "Meesakkaara Nanbaa", "Kathadikkuthu Kathadikkuthu" and "Gopala Gopala", and he also recorded with other composers, including Sirpy. Beyond film music he lent his voice to devotional recordings such as "Unnai Thedi" and "Un Siragugal Nizhalil".

One of his songs, "Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu", gained recognition far beyond Tamil Nadu when it was played at the state funeral of former Singapore President S. R. Nathan, reportedly fulfilling one of Nathan's own wishes. It is the kind of detail that admirers point to when explaining why Krishnaraj mattered: his songs were widely known and loved even by listeners who did not necessarily know his name, a common fate for playback singers who work in the shadow of the films and composers they serve.

Krishnaraj's death came in an unusually painful week for the Tamil film industry. Composer Deva, his most frequent collaborator, died on 17 October 2026, and Deva's nephew, actor Karthik Sabesh, died on 20 October, just two days before Krishnaraj himself. Reports said Krishnaraj had been unwell for several days and had been undergoing treatment before he died in Chennai on the morning of 22 October. The exact cause of death had not been officially confirmed at the time of his passing.

News of his death prompted an outpouring of tribute from across Tamil public life. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, actor Sarathkumar, singer Chinmayi Sripaada, singers Sujatha Mohan and Anuradha Sriram, and PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss were among those who paid their respects, describing the loss as a heavy blow coming so soon after Deva's death. His body was kept at his home in Ramapuram, Chennai, for the public and members of the film fraternity to pay their respects, before being taken to his hometown of Vembadithalam in Salem for funeral rites.

It is worth noting, for anyone encountering the name through a search engine, that this Krishnaraj Ramasamy, the Tamil playback singer, is a different person from Krishnaraj Ramaswamy, an academic and engineering professor based at Dambi Dollo University in Ethiopia who publishes research and appears on Google Scholar. The two share a similar name but have no known connection.