Ilayaraaja is a well-known music director in the Indian film industry.He is not only a music director and also film score composer, lyricist, songwriter, singer, conductor and instrumentalist.He has composed over 6500 songs and provided film scores for over one thousand films.He is a most familiar music director in the southern part of Indian cinema industry.
Early Life: Birth and Family of Origin
Ilaiyaraaja’s original name was “Gnanathesikan.”He is a son of Daniel Ramaswamy and Chinnathayammal.Ilaiyaraaja was born on 2 June 1943 (age 74).He is from a middle-class family in Pannaipuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India.Ilaiyaraaja was married to Jeeva, and hence the couple has three children.Ilaiyaraaja has a sibling; Gangai Amaran, who is additionally a music chief and lyricist in the Tamil film industry.
At the age of fourteen, he joined a musical troupe headed by his elder step-brother, Pavalar Varadarajan.While working with the troupe, he started his first composition, the song lyrics is written by the famous poet “Kaviarasu” Kannadasan for Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1968, Ilaiyaraaja joined a music course with Professor Dhanraj in Madras (now Chennai).The session included an overview of Western classical music, compositional training in techniques and instrumental performance.
Ilayaraaja’s Film Career as a Music Director:
In 1975, film producer Panchu Arunachalam appointed him to create the melodies and film score for a Tamil-language film called Annakkili.For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja connected the strategies of modern famous film music coordination to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which made a combination of Western and Tamil maxims.In 1980s Ilaiyaraaja was gaining increasing growth as a film composer and music director in the South Indian film industry.He has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Vairamuthu, Sreekumaran Thampi, Vaali, Veturi Sundararama Murthy, Kannadasan, Aacharya Aatreya, Gulzar, Sirivennela Sitaramasastri, O. N. V. Kurup, and Chi. Udaya Shankar and is well known for his association with filmmakers such as S. P. Muthuraman, J. Mahendran, Balu Mahendra, Bala, K. Balachander, R. Balki, Mani Ratnam, Sathyan Anthikkad, Bharathiraja, Priyadarshan, Fazil, Vamsy, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao and K. Vishwanath.
Well-known achievements:
Ilaiyaraaja’s “Rakkama Kaiya Thattu” song from the movie Thalapathi in 1991.”S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Swarnalatha sang Rakkama Kaiya Thattu” song. That song listed in a BBC World Top Ten music poll.He made the music for Nayakan, an Indian film positioned by TIME Magazine as one of the untouched 100 best motion pictures, some of India’s legitimate passages to the Oscars, for example, Swathi Muthyam (1986),Nayagan (1987), Thevar Magan (1992), Anjali (1991), Guru (1997) and Hey Ram (2000), and for Indian art films, for example, Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s FIPRESCI Prize-winning Nizhalkuthu (“The Shadow Kill”) (2002).He composes the soundtrack of My Dear Kuttichathan, the first stereoscopic 3D film made in India.
The Black Eyed Peas inspected the Ilaiyaraaja synthesis “Unakkum Ennakum” from Sri Raghavendra (1985), for the tune “The Elephunk Theme” on Elephunk (2003). The elective artist M.I.A. tested “Kaatukuyilu” from the film Thalapathi (1991) for her tune “Bamboo Banga” on the collection Kala (2007). Additionally, Gonjasufi tested “Yeh Hawa Yeh Fiza” from the motion picture Sadma.
List of awards :
Ilayaraaja has won the three International Film Awards, such as Golden Remi Award for Vishwa Thulasi (2005) at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. Best Music Director award for Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai (2011) at the Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards and Centenary Award for Lifetime Achievement (2015) at the International Film Festival of India. He nominated for South Indian International Movie Awards, In 2012, Best Music Director in Telugu for Rama Rajyam. And 2013, Best Music Director in Tamil for Neethane En Ponvasantham.
Ilayaraaja won five national awards. Three awards for best music direction and two awards for Best Background Score. The Best Music Direction award for the films Saagara Sangamam (1984), Sindhu Bhairavi (1986) and Rudraveena (1989). The Best Background Score for the movie Pazhassi Raja (2009) and Tharai Thappattai (2016).
He got five Filmfare Awards South. Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for South Contribution to Cinema (1989), The Best Music Director Award for Bobbili Raja (Telugu) (1990), Thalapathi (Tamil) (1991), Manassinakkare (Malayalam) (2003) and Achuvinte Amma (Malayalam) (2005).
Ilayaraaja received six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards. For the films 16 Vayathinile (1977), Nizhalgal (1980), Alaigal Oivathillai (1981), Agni Natchathiram (1988), Varusham Padhinaaru, Karagattakaran (1989) and Ajantha (2009).
He also received five Nandi Awards (Andhra Pradesh State Government) for the film Seethakoka Chiluka (1981), Rudraveena(1988), Jagadeka Veerudu Athiloka Sundari (1990), Sri Rama Rajyam (2011) and Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu (2012).
Ilayaraaja honored by a Government of India for two times. He received Padma Bhushan in 2010, and he got Padma Vibhushan in 2018.
