Ilaiyaraaja (Tamil: இளையராஜா, pronounced [ɪɭəjəɹɑːdʒɑː]( listen)) (born Gnanadesikan[1] on 2 June 1943) is an Indian film composer, singer, lyricist and the first Asian composer to score a symphony for the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a recipient of prestigious Padmabhushan Award from the Government of India. He is a gold medallist from Trinity College of Music, London, and has composed over 4500 songs and provided film scores for more than 900 Indian films[2] in various languages in a career spanning more than 30 years.[3][4] He is usually referred to by the title Isaignani (literally meaning 'a man with great knowledge in music'), or as "The Maestro". He is based in Chennai, the centre of the Tamil film industry (colloquially known as Kollywood).
Ilaiyaraaja has been a prominent composer of film music in southern Indian cinema since the late 1970s.[5] His work integrated Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities into the South Indian musical mainstream. He has thrice won the Indian National Film Award for best film scoring.[6]
In the 2000s, he composed a range of non-film music, including religious and devotional songs, an oratorio, and world music. He is married to Jeeva, and the couple's two sons (Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja) and daughter (Bhavatharini) are film composers and singers.
Early life
Ilaiyaraaja was born as Gnanadesikan in Pannaipuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, as the third son of Ramaswamy and Chinnathayammal. Growing up in a rural area, Ilaiyaraaja was exposed to a range of Tamil folk music.[9] At the age of 14, he joined a travelling musical troupe headed by his elder stepbrother, Pavalar Varadarajan, and spent the next decade performing throughout South India.[10][11] While working with the troupe, he penned his first composition, a musical setting of an elegy written by the Tamil poet laureate Kannadasan for Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.[12]
In 1968, Ilaiyaraaja began a music course with Professor Dhanraj in Madras (now Chennai), which included an overview of Western classical music, compositional training in techniques such as counterpoint, and study in instrumental performance.[13] Ilaiyaraaja specialized in classical guitar and had done a course in it with the Trinity College of Music, London
Film composer
In 1976, film producer Panchu Arunachalam commissioned him to compose the songs and film score for a Tamil-language film called Annakkili ('The Parrot'). For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja applied the techniques of modern popular film music orchestration to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which created a fusion of Western and Tamil idioms.[19][20] Ilaiyaraaja's use of Tamil music in his film scores injected new influence into the Indian film score milieu.[21] By the mid-1980s Ilaiyaraaja was gaining increasing stature as a film composer and music director in the South Indian film industry.[5] Besides Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films, he has scored music for Hindi (or Bollywood) film productions such as Sadma (1983), Mahadev (1989), Lajja (2001) , Cheeni Kum (2007) and recently Paa (2009). He has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Gulzar, Kannadasan, Vairamuthu and T.S. Rangarajan (Vaali),[22] and film directors such as K. Balachander, K. Vishwanath, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Balu Mahendra and Mani Ratnam.[23] As of 2009, he scored for Malayalam movie, Pazhassiraja and the Tamil movie Jagan Mohini.
Awards and honours
Ilayaraja tries different compositions for 'muthaithiru'
Ilaiyaraaja has won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the all the Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1986) and the Telugu films Rudraveena (1989), Saagara Sangamam (1984).[80] He won the Gold Remi Award for Best Music Score jointly with film composer M. S. Viswanathan at the WorldFest-Houston Film Festival for the film Vishwa Thulasi (2005).[81]
He was conferred the title Isaignani ('savant of music') in 1988 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and received the Kalaimamani Award, an annual award for excellence in the field of arts from the Government of the State of Tamil Nadu, India.[82] He also received State Government Awards from the governments of Kerala (1995), Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (The Lata Mangeshkar Award) (1998) for excellence in music.[83] In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.[84]
He was awarded honorary doctorates by Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India (Degree of Doctor of Letter (Honoris causa)) (March 1994), the World University Round Table, Arizona, U.S.A. (Cultural Doctorate in Philosophy of Music) (April 1994), and Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu (Degree of Doctor of Letters) (1996).[83] He received an Award of Appreciation from the Foundation and Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (1994), and later that year was presented with an honorary citizenship and key to the Teaneck township by Mr. John Abraham, Mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.A.[83]
He has received NTR National Award for the year 2004. He has received Padma Bhushan award in the year 2010.
Ilaiyaraaja has been a prominent composer of film music in southern Indian cinema since the late 1970s.[5] His work integrated Tamil folk lyricism and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities into the South Indian musical mainstream. He has thrice won the Indian National Film Award for best film scoring.[6]
In the 2000s, he composed a range of non-film music, including religious and devotional songs, an oratorio, and world music. He is married to Jeeva, and the couple's two sons (Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja) and daughter (Bhavatharini) are film composers and singers.
Early life
Ilaiyaraaja was born as Gnanadesikan in Pannaipuram, Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, as the third son of Ramaswamy and Chinnathayammal. Growing up in a rural area, Ilaiyaraaja was exposed to a range of Tamil folk music.[9] At the age of 14, he joined a travelling musical troupe headed by his elder stepbrother, Pavalar Varadarajan, and spent the next decade performing throughout South India.[10][11] While working with the troupe, he penned his first composition, a musical setting of an elegy written by the Tamil poet laureate Kannadasan for Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.[12]
In 1968, Ilaiyaraaja began a music course with Professor Dhanraj in Madras (now Chennai), which included an overview of Western classical music, compositional training in techniques such as counterpoint, and study in instrumental performance.[13] Ilaiyaraaja specialized in classical guitar and had done a course in it with the Trinity College of Music, London
Film composer
In 1976, film producer Panchu Arunachalam commissioned him to compose the songs and film score for a Tamil-language film called Annakkili ('The Parrot'). For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja applied the techniques of modern popular film music orchestration to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which created a fusion of Western and Tamil idioms.[19][20] Ilaiyaraaja's use of Tamil music in his film scores injected new influence into the Indian film score milieu.[21] By the mid-1980s Ilaiyaraaja was gaining increasing stature as a film composer and music director in the South Indian film industry.[5] Besides Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films, he has scored music for Hindi (or Bollywood) film productions such as Sadma (1983), Mahadev (1989), Lajja (2001) , Cheeni Kum (2007) and recently Paa (2009). He has worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Gulzar, Kannadasan, Vairamuthu and T.S. Rangarajan (Vaali),[22] and film directors such as K. Balachander, K. Vishwanath, Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, Balu Mahendra and Mani Ratnam.[23] As of 2009, he scored for Malayalam movie, Pazhassiraja and the Tamil movie Jagan Mohini.Awards and honours
Ilayaraja tries different compositions for 'muthaithiru'
Ilaiyaraaja has won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction for the all the Tamil film Sindhu Bhairavi (1986) and the Telugu films Rudraveena (1989), Saagara Sangamam (1984).[80] He won the Gold Remi Award for Best Music Score jointly with film composer M. S. Viswanathan at the WorldFest-Houston Film Festival for the film Vishwa Thulasi (2005).[81]
He was conferred the title Isaignani ('savant of music') in 1988 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and received the Kalaimamani Award, an annual award for excellence in the field of arts from the Government of the State of Tamil Nadu, India.[82] He also received State Government Awards from the governments of Kerala (1995), Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh (The Lata Mangeshkar Award) (1998) for excellence in music.[83] In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour.[84]
He was awarded honorary doctorates by Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India (Degree of Doctor of Letter (Honoris causa)) (March 1994), the World University Round Table, Arizona, U.S.A. (Cultural Doctorate in Philosophy of Music) (April 1994), and Madurai Kamaraj University, Tamil Nadu (Degree of Doctor of Letters) (1996).[83] He received an Award of Appreciation from the Foundation and Federation of Tamil Sangams of North America (1994), and later that year was presented with an honorary citizenship and key to the Teaneck township by Mr. John Abraham, Mayor of Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.A.[83]
He has received NTR National Award for the year 2004. He has received Padma Bhushan award in the year 2010.
