‘Amruthavarshini’: When Deva gave Kannada cinema an all-time hit with a soulful album

Music composer Deva’s work in the 1997 Kannada film, directed by Dinesh Baboo, showcased a soulful side of his repertoire, even as he was known for high-energy numbers

Published - October 18, 2026 09:02 pm IST

Deva’s music for the Kannada movie Amruthavarshini (1997) is a classic, celebrated even today for its melodious numbers.

Bengaluru: Music composer Deva, who passed away at 75 on Saturday (October 17, 2026), leaves a rich legacy in Tamil cinema. In his handful of Kannada projects, he produced one of the all-time hit albums. Deva’s music for Amruthavarshini (1997) is a classic, celebrated even today for its melodious numbers.

A romantic psychological drama, the movie stars Sharath Babu, Suhasini, and Ramesh Aravind. In the intense drama, a happy marriage is shattered by a grieving friend. “I was working on the script of Amruthavarshini 2 whenI heard of the passing of Deva sir,” director Dinesh Baboo told The Hindu. “I wanted to bring back the same technical team of the first part. But with SP (Balasubrahmanyam) and Deva sir no longer with us, my dream remains unfufilled.”

During the late nineties, Deva composed high-energy chartbusters for Rajinikanth’s Baashha (1995) and Arunachalam (1997). The soulful songs in Amruthavarshini during the same period revealed another side of Deva. “His mastery in melody songs helped the movie,” said Baboo. “He also added great value to lyrics by understanding them. Take any movie; he knew the entire story. That helped him be more effective with his score and tunes,” explained the filmmaker.

In the evergreen album, Baboo reveals that ‘Tunturu’, sung by K. S. Chithra, was the most complex one to crack. I gave Deva a ghazal by Jagjit Singh as a reference. I told him I wanted our film’s song to have a similar feel. After listening to it, he composed ‘Tunturu’ in no time,” Baboo recollected.

Baboo lauds Kalyan’s poetic lyrics. “I was just 21 when I wrote the songs. The lyrics helped me let out my tender feelings,” Kalyan told The Hindu. Deva sir’s magical composition and Dinesh Baboo’s proper song placements made Amruthavarshini a great musical,” he said.

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Kalyan remembered SP Balasubrahmanyam’s special love for the movie’s songs. “SP sir might have sung over 4000 songs, but he would have just 8-10 audio cassettes in the car, and one of them was of Amruthavarshini’s,” said Kalyan, who also can’t forget how emotional the legendary singer got when he sang the romantic number ‘Manase Baduku Ninagagi’.

“After the voice mixing session, SP sir didn’t come out of the studio for more than 30 minutes. He had become very emotional while singing the lines,” said Kalyan, who felt Amruthavarshini's songs had a feel of Bhavageethes. “The songs also reflect the rich quality of the Kannada language. They have a soothing effect.”

Reflecting on the longevity of the album, he said, “Recently, a family came up to me in a coffee shop and spoke about the songs. I was surprised that a 19-year-old girl was impressed with an album that was released 30 years ago,” said Kalyan, who remembered Deva as an amicable composer who had the childlike energy and love for music.

Published - October 18, 2026 09:02 pm IST

Kannada cinema / entertainment (general) / Indian cinema

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