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Veteran Indian music composer SP Venkatesh dies at 70
Venkatesh composed the tunes for many memorable Malayalam movies in a career spanning more than four decades
- PUBLISHED: Tue 3 Feb 2026, 12:56 PM UPDATED: Tue 3 Feb 2026, 1:26 PM
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Veteran Indian film composer SP Venkatesh, best known for his work in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada cinema in the 1990s, died on Tuesday at the age of 70 at his home in Chennai.
Some of Venkatesh's best works came in Malayalam films. For instance, his works include the Mohanlal movies Indrajaalam, Kilukkam, Minnaram and Spadikam, and the Mammootty flicks Dhruvam, Kauravar, Johnnie Walker and Kizhakkan Pathrose. Most of the movies turned out to be critical and commercial successes and are also remembered for their music scores and songs.
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He is also known for his work in Bengali and Hindi films in a career spanning nearly more than four decades. In all, has composed music for around 150 Malayalam movies.
Venkatesh's big break as composer came in Dennis Joseph's Rajavinte Makan (1986), a Malayalam movie that is considered a cult classic to this day. The crime drama, loosely based on the Sidney Sheldon novel Rage of Angels, stars Mohanlal, Ambika, Ratheesh and Suresh Gopi, and is considered a milestone in Mohanlal's career. The movie also spurred remakes in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi.
From then on, he became a regular in Malayalam cinema, composing the tunes for many landmark movies. He was also known for his collaborations with his peers, composing the background music for films where the songs were set to tune by others. Along the way, he bagged a Kerala State Film Award and Filmfare Award for best music director.
Venkatesh's father Pazhani was a mandolin player, helping him inculcate music at an early age. He also became a guitarist and vocalist. Soon enough, he started assisting the film musicians Raveendran and AT Ummeer.
Movies where he handled the orchestration include Devaasuram, No. 20 Madras Mail, Vaatsalyam, Chandralekha and Mannar Mathai Speaking.
He composed music for the Kannada movies Prema Yuddha, Panchama Veda and Ashwamedha, among others. In Bollywood, he scored the background music for the films Viraasat, Yeh Teraa Ghar Yeh Meraa Ghar, Hungama and Kyon Ki.
