Ilaiyaraaja is one of the distinguished music composers of the Tamil cinema. Since the release of his debut album Annakkili in 1976, Ilaiyaraaja has presented the Tamil music industry with unparalleled gems. Besides being an accomplished composer, the 81-year-old artist is known for curating music for free for some filmmakers when they directed their first film. According to the reports, these directors are P Vasu, Prathap Pothen, Manivannan and producer Sangili Murugan. These details have become the talk of the town on social media.
Ilaiyaraaja is known for his versatile compositions and produced music for over 1,000 albums throughout his career. The veteran artist’s work is predominantly associated with Tamil cinema. He has also left his mark in other languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
Some of his most famous tracks are-
1. Aye zindagi gale laga le
Suresh Wadkar rendered vocals to this timeless classic penned by Gulzar.
2. Nee Oru Kaadhal Sangeetham
Mano and KS Chitra have sung this track with lyrics written by Pulamaipithan.
3. Vaishnav Jana To
Ilaiyaraaja also composed the version of this classic bhajan in the film Hey Ram. Vibha Sharma lent the vocals to this track.
Some time back, Ilaiyaraaja also courted controversy after he sent a notice to Sun TV for the unauthorised use of his music in the Coolie’s teaser. According to reports, the veteran composer had raised objections over the recreated version of his song Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa. This song is from the director Bharathiraja’s film titled Thanga Magan. SP Balasubrahmanyam and Vani Jairam have rendered vocals to this track penned by Muthulingam. The notice mentioned that creating a recreated version of this song is a crime under the Copyright Act, of 1957.
Sun Pictures, which is producing the project, hasn’t officially replied to the maestro’s allegation yet, but Rajinikanth has. Addressing the media outside the Chennai International Airport, Rajinikanth said the producer (referring to Kalanithi Maran) and the maestro (Ilaiyaraaja) should resolve the existing dispute (copyright row).
“The issue is between them," he added.
Ilaiyaraaja was married to Jeeva, and the couple had three children—Karthik Raja, Bhavatharini and Yuvan Shankar Raja—all of them are film composers and singers. His wife Jeeva and daughter Bhavatharini are no more.