Krishnaraj, Voice Of 'Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu', Dies In Chennai
Krishnaraj, the Tamil playback singer linked with composer Deva and known for 'Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu', died on Thursday, five days after Deva. He was 75.
Krishnaraj, the playback voice behind "Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu", died in Chennai on Thursday 22 October, five days after the composer who gave him so many of his songs. Deva had died on 17 October. He was 75, though some reports put his age at 74. He was born in 1951.
His funeral was due to take place on Friday in his home village of Vembadithalam, in Salem district.
The Deva years
Through the 1990s and early 2000s, Krishnaraj was the voice Deva reached for when a song needed folk grit and full-throated energy. "Vellarikka" from Kadhal Kottai, "Kaathadikkuthu Kaathadikkuthu" from Ninaivirukkum Varai and "Meesakkara Nanba" from Natpukkaga all came out of that partnership. He also sang in Paruthiveeran, and worked with Ilaiyaraaja, A.R. Rahman and Yuvan Shankar Raja.
He was self-taught. He came into film music through Deva's circle, and his first recording was for a Deva film that never reached cinemas.
A song that travelled
"Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu", from Cheran's 1997 film Porkkaalam, won him the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for best male playback singer. Krishnaraj once said in an interview that the song was never meant to be his. Cheran had planned to use a folk singer and Krishnaraj had only sung a guide track for the shoot. Everyone liked it, and Cheran changed his mind.
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The song later found an audience well beyond Tamil Nadu. It was played at the 2016 state funeral of S.R. Nathan, the Tamil-origin former President of Singapore, at his own request. Nathan had seen in it a picture of his country's mixed heritage.
Tributes
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay said Krishnaraj had won fans over with his distinctive voice and lively songs, and called his death a great loss to Tamil cinema. Actor Sarathkumar listed the songs Krishnaraj had sung for his films, among them "Garuda Garuda" from Natpukkaga.
Counts of his recorded songs vary widely between sources, from a few hundred to several thousand. The list of hits is shorter and easier to agree on, and most of them carry Deva's name too.
(Source: CMOTamilnadu on X (22 October 2026), R Sarath Kumar (@realsarathkumar) on X (22 October 2026), Tamil Nadu DIPR press release No. 890 (22 October 2026), BBC News Tamil (22 October 2026), NDTV (22 October 2026))
