Jump to content

Ilaiyaraaja

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kailash29792 (talk | contribs) at 04:31, 25 October 2023 (Rescuing 46 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.9.5). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja at Merku Thodarchi Malai Press Meet, June 2017
Ilaiyaraaja at Merku Thodarchi Malai Press Meet, June 2017
Background information
Birth nameR. Gnanathesikan
Also known as
  • Ilaiyaraja
  • Maestro
  • Isaignani
Born (1943-06-03) 3 June 1943 (age 81)
Pannaipuram,Theni District,Tamil Nadu
Genres
Occupations
  • Composer
  • Arranger
  • Conductor
  • Orchestrator
  • Instrumentalist
  • Lyricist
  • Singer
  • Film producer
Instruments
Years active1976–present
Websiteilaiyaraajalive.com Edit this at Wikidata
Member of parliament, Rajya Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office
7 July 2022
Nominated byRam Nath Kovind
ConstituencyNominated (Arts)

Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, June 3, 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian cinema, prominently in Tamil and Telugu films. Reputed to be one of the most prolific composers in a career spanning over forty-seven years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films,[1] apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts.[2] He is nicknamed "Isaignani" (the musical sage) and often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London.[3]

Often regarded as one of the greatest musicians alive. He was also one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Tamil film music,[4] and the first South Asian to compose a full symphony.[5] In 1986, he became the first Indian composer to record a soundtrack with computer for the film Vikram.[6] He also composed Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006), the first Indian oratorio.[7]

In 2013, when CNN-IBN conducted a poll commemorating 100 years of Indian cinema, he secured 49% of the vote and was adjudged as the country's greatest music composer.[8] In 2014, the American world cinema portal, "Taste of Cinema", placed him at 9th position in its list of 25 greatest film composers in the history of cinema. He is the only Indian in the list, appearing alongside Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith.[9][10]

Ilaiyaraaja received several awards for his works throughout his career. In 2012, for his creative and experimental works in the field of music, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts. In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in India; and was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2018, the second-highest civilian award by the government of India. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the Indian upper house, Rajya Sabha, since July 2022.[11]

Early life

Ilaiyaraaja was born as Gnanathesigan in a Tamil family[12] belonging to Pannaipuram, in present-day Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, on June 3, 1943.[13] As the birth dates of both Ilaiyaraaja and the politician M. Karunanidhi fall on the same date (June 3), Ilaiyaraaja decided to celebrate his on June 2 instead, so that people of Tamil Nadu can celebrate only that of Karunanidhi on June 3. This was done to honour Karunanidhi who gave Ilaiyaraaja the title "Isaignani”.[13]

At the time of joining school, his father changed his name from Gnanathesigan to "Rajaiya", and the people in his village called him "Raasayya".[14] When he joined Dhanraj Master as a student to learn musical instruments, the master changed his name to "Raaja".[15] While working for his first film Annakili (1976), Tamil film producer Panchu Arunachalam added the prefix "Ilaiya" (Ilaiya meaning younger in Tamil language) to the name Raaja, and renamed him as "Ilaiyaraaja", as in the 1970s there was another popular music director with the same suffix, namely A. M. Rajah.[16]

Initial exposure to music

Ilaiyaraaja grew up in a rural area and was exposed to a range of Tamil folk music in his formative years.[17] At the age of 14, he joined a travelling musical troupe named as "Pavalar Brothers", headed by his elder brother Pavalar Varadharajan, and spent the next decade performing across South India.[18] While working with the troupe, he penned his first composition, a musical adaptation of an elegy written by the Tamil poet laureate, Kannadasan for India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.[19][20]

In 1968, he began a music course with Professor Dhanraj in Madras (now Chennai),[15] the course included an overview of Western classical music, compositional training in techniques such as counterpoint, and study in instrumental performance. Ilaiyaraaja was a gold medalist in classical guitar after completing the course through distance learning channel from Trinity College of Music, London.[21][22] He learnt Carnatic music from T. V. Gopalakrishnan.[18][23][24]

Career

Session musician and orchestrator

During the 1970s in Chennai, Ilaiyaraaja played guitar in a band-for-hire, and worked as a session guitarist, keyboardist, and organist for film music composers and directors such as Salil Chowdhury from West Bengal.[25][26][27][28] Chowdhury once said that Ilaiyaraaja is going to become the best composer in India.[29] After being hired as the musical assistant to Kannada film composer G. K. Venkatesh, he worked on 200 film projects, mostly in Kannada cinema.[30] As Venkatesh's assistant, Ilaiyaraaja would orchestrate the melodic outlines developed by Venkatesh, learning about composing under Venkatesh's guidance. During this period, Ilaiyaraaja also began writing his own scores. To listen to his compositions, he used to persuade Venkatesh's session musicians to play excerpts from his scores during their leisure times.[citation needed]

Film score composer

Ilaiyaraaja at the TFPC Press Meet

At the start of his career, the music sensibility of Ilaiyaraaja was very different to the film music being composed in those days, so he spent a lot of his time in learning, but "wasn't able to grasp how music was being made for films." However in 1975, film producer Panchu Arunachalam, impressed by a song casually sung by Ilaiyaraaja, commissioned him to compose the songs and film score for a Tamil film titled Annakili (1976).[31] For the soundtrack, Ilaiyaraaja applied the techniques of modern popular film music orchestration—to Tamil folk poetry and folk song melodies, which resulted in creation of a fusion of Western and Tamil idioms. Initially he was little apprehensive about how his work would be received, and thought that musicians in the industry may write him off. Eventually, when Annakili released in 1976, the music became a huge hit. For his next following 12 films, Ilaiyaraaja based his compositions on the contemporary film music of the time, later when a new wave of films started to come, they opened the space for the kind of music he wanted to explore.[32][33][34]

One of the earliest admirers of Ilaiyaraaja, Bengali composer Salil Choudhury, under whose tutelage Ilaiyaraaja initially worked as a lead guitarist, once remarked, "Our main guitarist in Madras is the best composer in India".[35]

Ilaiyaraaja's use of Tamil folk music in his film scores injected new life in the Indian film score milieu.[36] By the mid-1980s, he started gaining increasing stature as a composer and music director in the South Indian film industries.[37] He worked with Indian poets and lyricists such as Kannadasan, Vaali, Vairamuthu, O. N. V. Kurup, Sreekumaran Thampi, Veturi, Acharya Aatreya, Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry, Chi. Udayashankar and Gulzar. He became well known for his association with filmmakers such as Bharathiraja, S. P. Muthuraman, Mahendran, Balu Mahendra, K. Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Sathyan Anthikad, Priyadarshan, Fazil, Vamsy, K. Viswanath, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Bala, Shankar Nag, and R. Balki.[citation needed]

Director R. K. Selvamani claimed that for his film Chembaruthi (1992), Ilaiyaraaja had composed nine songs in just 45 minutes, which is a record.[38]

Cinematographer Santosh Sivan said that Ilaiyaraaja finished composing for the entire soundtrack of the movie Thalapathi in less than "half a day".[39]

During the recording for the song "Sundari" from the movie Thalapathi in Mumbai with R.D. Burman's orchestra, when Ilaiyaraaja gave them the notes, they were so moved and taken in by the composition that all the musicians put their hands together in awe and gave a standing ovation as a mark of respect for Ilaiyaraaja.[40]

The score and soundtrack of the 1984 Malayalam-language film My Dear Kuttichathan, the first stereoscopic 3D film made in India, was composed by him.[41]

He composed the soundtrack for the movie Nayakan (1987), an Indian film ranked by Time magazine as one of the all-time 100 best movies[42]

Non-cinematic output

Ilaiyaraaja's first two non-film albums were explorations in the fusion of Indian and Western classical music. The first, How to Name It? (1986), is dedicated to the Carnatic master Tyāgarāja and to J. S. Bach. It features a fusion of the Carnatic form and ragas with Bach partitas, fugues and Baroque musical textures.[43] The second, Nothing But Wind (1988), was performed by flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia and a 50-piece orchestra and takes the conceptual approach suggested in the title—that music is a "natural phenomenon akin to various forms of air currents".[44]

He has composed a set of Carnatic kritis which were recorded by electric mandolinist U. Srinivas for the album Ilayaraaja's Classicals on the Mandolin (1994). Ilaiyaraaja has also composed albums of religious/devotional songs. His Guru Ramana Geetam (2004) is a cycle of prayer songs inspired by the Hindu mystic Ramana Maharshi, and his Thiruvasakam: A crossover (2005) is an oratorio of ancient Tamil poems transcribed partially in English by American lyricist Stephen Schwartz and performed by the Budapest Symphony Orchestra.[45][46] His most recent release is a world music-oriented album called The Music Messiah (2006).[47]

In May 2020, he composed a song titled Bharath Bhoomi, as tribute to the people working amid COVID-19 pandemic.[48] The song was crooned by S. P Balasubrahmanyam and the video of the song was unveiled by Ilaiyaraaja on his YouTube channel on 30 May 2020, in Tamil and Hindi.[49][50]

He has announced on his birthday that his 'Isai OTT' application will be launched soon and promised the app will contain much more than just his songs, like behind-the-scenes trivia about how each of his songs were conceived, produced, delivered and collaborations with other musicians.[51][needs copy edit]

Ilaiyaraaja's song 'Naanthaan Ungappanda' from the 1981 film 'Ram Lakshman' was part of the playlist for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

His compositions Paayum Puli Title Music and Ilamai Itho were part of the soundtrack of Ashim Ahluwalia's 2012 Cannes Film Festival entry, Miss Lovely.[52] The Lovebirds (2020) incorporated a section of Ilaiyaraaja's "Oru kili" soundtrack composed for the movie Aanandha Kummi (1983) as background music in its official trailer.[53]

The Black Eyed Peas sampled the Ilaiyaraaja composition "Unakkum Ennakum" from Sri Raghavendra (1985), for the song "The Elephunk Theme" in Elephunk (2003).[54]

Ilaiyaraaja's song "Mella Mella Ennaithottu" from Vaazhkai was sampled by Rabbit Mac in the song Sempoi.[55] Popular American rapper Meek Mill sampled one of Ilaiyaraaja's hit songs for Indian Bounce.

The alternative artist M.I.A. sampled "Kaatukuyilu" from the film Thalapathi (1991) for her song "Bamboo Banga" on the album Kala (2007).

Alphant sampled Ilaiyaraaja's music for his song An Indian Dream.[56] Gonjasufi sampled Ilaiyaraaja's "Yeh Hawa Yeh Fiza" from the movie Sadma.

Live performances

Ilaiyaraaja at the inauguration of 91st Music Academy Concerts & Conferences

Ilaiyaraaja rarely performs his music live. His first major live performance since his debut was a four-hour concert held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, India on 16 October 2005.[57] He performed in 2004 in Italy at the Teatro Comunale di Modena, an event-concert presented for the 14th edition of Angelica, Festival Internazionale Di Musica, co-produced with the L'Altro Suono Festival.[58]

On 23 October 2005, "A Time For Heroes", sponsored by different agencies including the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation, saw Hollywood star Richard Gere, Tamil and Telugu stars converging on the city for an evening of "infotainment"—they spoke in one voice on HIV/AIDS. The event organised at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium, Hyderabad, on Saturday, 22 October 2005, took off with maestro Ilaiyaraaja's composition rendered by singer Usha Uthup.

A television retrospective titled Ithu Ilaiyaraja ("This is Ilaiyaraja") was produced, chronicling his career.[59] He last performed live at the audio release function of the film Dhoni and before that, he performed a programme that was conducted and telecasted by Jaya TV titled Enrendrum Raja ("Everlasting Raja") on 28 December 2011, at Jahawarlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai.

On 5 September 2012, Ilayaraja performed in a live concert in Chennai with the Hungarian National Philharmonic orchestra; during this event the music launch of his films Neethane En Ponvasantham and Yeto Vellipoyindhi Manasu took place.[60] On 23 September 2012, he performed live in Bangalore at National High School Grounds.

On 16 February 2013, Ilayaraja made his first appearance in North America performing at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada.[61] The Toronto concert was promoted by Trinity Events for Vijay TV in India and produced by Sandy Audio Visual SAV Productions with PA+. Following his show at Toronto, Ilaiyaraaja also performed at the Prudential Center Newark, New Jersey on 23 February 2013, and at the HP Pavilion at San Jose on 1 March 2013. After his North America tour he made a live performance at The O2 Arena in London on 24 August 2013, along with Kamal Haasan and his sons Yuvan Shankar Raja and Karthik Raja.[62]

Ilaiaraaja and his team performed live in North America in 2016. In October 2017, he performed live for the first time in Hyderabad and in November in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In March 2018, he performed live again in Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Jose, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and Toronto. For the first time in his career, Ilaiyaraaja has performed in Sydney with his orchestra in Hillsong Convention Centre on 11 August 2018. Also, in the same month as to celebrate his 75th birth anniversary, a concert was held in Singapore Star Performing Arts Theatre on 18 August.

Ilaiyaraaja organised a concert titled Isai Celebrates Isai in Chennai as a part of his 76th birthday celebration on 2 June 2019. Usually the maestro's team consists of forty to fifty musicians, but for the first time ever the concert had close to a hundred artists sharing the stage. The four-hour live concert also saw the reunion of noted singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam after their fallout over royalties in 2017. The event was an effort to raise funds for Cine Musicians Association. Ilaiyaraaja hosted a live concert in Coimbatore for the first time on 9 June 2019, titled Rajathi Raja, the event was held at the Codissia Grounds. Along with Ilaiyaraaja, singers SPB, Mano, Usha Uthup, Haricharan, Madhu Balakrishnan, and Bavatharini also performed at the event, backed by an orchestra from Hungary. Latha Rajinikanth and her daughter Aishwarya were also part of the event. The proceeds from the concert were donated to Peace for Children, an NGO that the former runs.

Musical style and sensibility

"Only the film director will be with me when the situation and the story are narrated. Then, it's just me and my harmonium. I just think about the situation and touch my harmonium and music flows. If people consider it as an alternate world, so be it. To me, it is something that I can't explain."

— Ilaiyaraaja on his creative process[1]

Ilaiyaraaja, once reflecting over his works ahead of turning seventy-five, said his "life experiences and learning" have been the fount from which his musical output poured, but sometimes felt that some of his compositions transcended them as if they were, "the reflection of the efforts of past lives — mine, or those of other musical exponents." When enquired if it was anyway similar to the case of mathematical genius, Srinivasa Ramanujan, who insisted he received math formula in dreams from a goddess, Ilaiyaraaja said that unlike Ramanujan who felt a supernatural being guiding him, he always felt a moment of clarity when a composition came to his mind, "It is as if I am the subject and the object of art at the same time when that happens," he said.[63]

Ilaiyaraaja uses his same old harmonium, whether in a studio, or in a concert. He has scored with it throughout his career, curiously in his younger days, he was never allowed to touch it by his brother who thought he would spoil it. However Ilaiyaraaja would play with it whenever he was not there, "that's how I learnt how to play," he says "the harmonium knows that it was made for me. It tells me that there is more music to be made."[1] The harmonium was reportedly brought for eighty-five rupees.[60]

Ilaiyaraaja's musical style is characterised by an orchestration which is a synthesis of Indian folk music and Western classical music, with traditional Indian instruments and modes. He uses electronic music technology that integrates synthesizers, electric guitars and keyboards, drum machines, rhythm boxes and MIDI with large orchestras that feature traditional instruments such as the veena, venu, nadaswaram, dholak, mridangam and tabla as well as Western lead instruments such as saxophones and flutes.[37]

Ilayaraja speaking after receiving the centenary award at the 46th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2015), in Panaji, Goa

The basslines in his songs tend to be melodically dynamic, rising and falling in a dramatic fashion. Polyrhythms are also apparent, particularly in songs with Indian folk or Carnatic influences. The melodic structure of his songs demand considerable vocal virtuosity, and have found expressive platform amongst some of India's respected vocalists and playback singers, such as T. M. Soundararajan, S. Janaki, P. Susheela, K. J. Yesudas, K. S. Chithra, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, M. G. Sreekumar, Rajkumar, Asha Bhosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Jayachandran, Uma Ramanan, S. P. Sailaja, Jency, Swarnalatha, Minmini, Sujatha, Malaysia Vasudevan, Kavita Krishnamurti, Hariharan, Suresh Wadkar, Udit Narayan, Sadhana Sargam and Shreya Ghoshal. Ilaiyaraaja has sung more than 400 of his own compositions for films, and is recognisable by his stark, deep voice. He has penned the lyrics for some of his songs in Tamil.[64][65] It is widely believed that he is the only composer in the world to have composed a song only in the ascending notes.[66][additional citation(s) needed] He considers M. S. Viswanathan as an overwhelming influence on his music.[67]

Ilaiyaraaja is nicknamed "Isaignani" (the musical genius), a title conferred by Kalaignar Karunanidhi. He is often referred to as "maestro", the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London.[3] He was one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music.[4] This allowed him to craft a rich tapestry of sounds for films, and his themes and background score gained notice and appreciation among Indian film audiences.[68] The range of expressive possibilities in Indian film music was broadened by his methodical approach to arranging, recording technique, and his drawing of ideas from a diversity of musical styles.[4]

He is reputed to be the world's most prolific composer[69] having composed more than 7,000 songs, provided film scores for more than 1,000 movies and performed in more than 20,000 concerts.[2][66][70][71] In 1993, he became the first Indian to compose a full symphony, performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London[5][66] and is also known to have written the entire symphony in less than a month.[72][73] Composed by Ilaiyaraaja, the critically acclaimed Thiruvasakam in Symphony (2006) is the first Indian oratorio.[74]

According to musicologist P. Greene,[clarification needed] Ilaiyaraaja's "deep understanding of so many different styles of music allowed him to create syncretic pieces of music combining very different musical idioms in unified, coherent musical statements".[37] Ilaiyaraaja has composed Indian film songs that amalgamated elements of genres such as Afro-tribal, bossa nova, dance music (e.g., disco), doo-wop, flamenco, acoustic guitar-propelled Western folk, funk, Indian classical, Indian folk/traditional, jazz, march, pathos, pop, psychedelia and rock and roll.[citation needed]

By virtue of this variety and his intermingling of Western, Indian folk and Carnatic elements, Ilaiyaraaja's compositions appeal to the Indian rural dweller for its rhythmic folk qualities, the Indian classical music enthusiast for the employment of Carnatic ragas, and the urbanite for its modern, Western-music sound.[75] His sense of visualisation for composing music is always to match up with the story line of the running movie and possibly by doing so, he creates the best experience for the audience to feel the emotions flavoured through his musical score. He mastered this art of blending music to the narration, which very few others managed to adapt themselves over a longer time.[76] Although Ilaiyaraaja uses a range of complex compositional techniques, he often sketches out the basic melodic ideas for films in a very spontaneous fashion.[17][37]

Actor Rajnikanth noted that Ilaiyaraaja used to complete the re-recording of three films in a single day, without any sleep; while present generation composers take 30 days for a single film.[77]

Honours and legacy

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Ilaiyaraaja

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred an honorary doctorate to music maestro Ilaiyaraaja during the 36th Convocation Ceremony of Gandhigram Rural Institute, Deemed to be University, in Tamil Nadu's Dindigul.[78]

Ilaiyaraaja receiving the Padma Vibhushan from President Ram Nath Kovind

Ilaiyaraaja has been awarded five National Film Awards—three for Best Music Direction and two for Best Background Score.[79] In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in India and the Padma Vibhushan in 2018, the second-highest civilian award by the government of India.[80][81] In 2012, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to practising artists, for his creative and experimental works in the music field.[82] He is a gold medalist in classical guitar from Trinity College of Music, London, Distance Learning Channel.[22]

In 2003, according to an international poll conducted by BBC of more than half-a million people from 165 countries, his composition "Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu" from the 1991 film Thalapathi was voted fourth in the top 10 most popular songs of all time.[83]

In 2013, when the Indian news channel CNN-IBN conducted a poll commemorating 100 years of Indian cinema, he secured 49% of the people's vote and was adjudged as the country's greatest music composer; A. R. Rahman stood second with 29% vote.[8]

In 1986, he became the first Indian composer to record a soundtrack with computer for the film Vikram.[6] He was also one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Tamil film music,[4] and the first South Asian to compose a full symphony.[5] He also composed Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006), the first Indian oratorio.[84]

Achille Forler, board member of the Indian Performing Right Society, said, "the kind of stellar body of work that Ilaiyaraaja has created in the last 40 years should have placed him among the world's top 10 richest composers, somewhere between Andrew Lloyd Webber ($1.2 billion) and Mick Jagger (over $300 million)."[85]

British Musician Andy Votel, described Ilaiyaraaja in an essay thus, "Whatever "genre" of music you choose to like/ love/ promote/ protect/ politicise/ over-intellectualize/ despise/ defend or pretend to enjoy, Ilaiyaraaja has done it."[86]

Carnatic vocalist T. M. Krishna considers no other film composer has displayed the broad range of understanding music like Ilaiyaraaja, and the way he adapts and creates music is unfathomable making him the absolute master.[87]

The soundtrack of Thalapathi was included in The Guardian's 100 Albums to Hear Before You Die.[88] In 2003, according to an international poll conducted by BBC, more than half-a million people from 165 countries voted his composition Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu from the 1991 film Thalapathi as fourth in the world's top 10 most popular songs of all time.[83]

On 6 July 2022, he has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha as Member of parliament by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind.[89]

Personal life

Ilaiyaraaja was married to Jeeva and the couple has three children—Karthik Raja, Yuvan Shankar Raja and Bhavatharini—all of them are film composers and singers.[90][91] His wife Jeeva died on 31 October 2011.[92] His brother, Gangai Amaran, is also a music director and lyricist in the Tamil film industry,[93] and both were not in talking terms for 13 years.[when?][94][95]

Ilaiyaraaja (center) with Kamal Haasan (left) and Rajinikanth (right) at the Nadigar Sangam Protest in 2018

In 2017, claiming copyright violations, Ilaiyaraaja sent legal notices to singers, S. P Balasubrahmanyam, his son S. P. Charan and Chithra, prohibiting them from singing his compositions without his consent, and warned they would have to pay huge royalties and face legal action if they do so.[96] Ilaiyaraaja's brother Gangai Amaran criticized him, saying legal notice to SPB is 'foolishness'.[97]

In 2018, during a talk show in the US, Ilaiyaraaja expressed his doubts regarding the credibility of the Christian belief in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and claimed that resurrection happened only in the case of the Hindu saint Ramana Maharshi. In protest, a Christian group lodged a complaint with the Police Commissioner of Trichy, demanding an apology or police action against Ilaiyaraaja for raising doubt about the "ultimate belief of Christians".[98]

In early 2022, talking about the state of music composers in industry, Ilaiyaraaja said, "There are no composers in the film industry today; there are only programmers."[99]

In April 2022, Ilaiyaraaja triggered a controversy by writing a foreword in the book titled, "Ambedkar & Modi—Reformer's Ideas", in which he praised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and compared him to B.R. Ambedkar. When he received some criticism, leaders from BJP came to his support.[100]

Discography

Main article: Ilaiyaraaja discography
Ilaiyaraaja 1970s Ilaiyaraaja 1980s Ilaiyaraaja 1990s Ilaiyaraaja 2000s Ilaiyaraaja 2010s Ilaiyaraaja 2020s New / Non-Film

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Ramamoorthy Preethi, Surendran Anusha (28 January 2019). "Ilaiyaraaja: Music is my religion". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Kerala News : No point in classifying music, says Ilayaraja". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.
  3. ^ a b "To Appreciate Ilaiyaraaja's Anti-Caste Politics, You Have To Listen To His Music". HuffPost India. 7 June 2020. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d Venkatraman, S. 1995. "Film music: the new intercultural idiom of 20th century Indian music". pp. 107–112 in A. Euba and C.T. Kimberlin (eds.). Intercultural Music Vol. I. Bayreuth: Breitinger (p. 110).
  5. ^ a b c Ganesh, Deepa (6 June 2018). "There's India in Ilaiyaraja's music". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  6. ^ a b "10 Technologies brought in by Tamil Cinema". Behindwoods. 21 November 2016. Archived from the original on 11 September 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  7. ^ "CD Review: Ilaiyaraaja / Thiruvasagam | Finndian". Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b "NTR is the greatest Indian actor". The Times of India. 8 March 2013. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  9. ^ "Ilayaraja among 25 Greatest Film Composers in world cinema!". Sify. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015.
  10. ^ White, Brian (14 March 2014). "The 25 Greatest Film Composers In Cinema History". Taste of Cinema. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  11. ^ "Music maestro Ilaiyaraaja nominated to the Rajya Sabha". The Newsminute. 6 July 2022. Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 25 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Casteist message in Ilaiyaraaja's name is fake, composer's lawyer clarifies". The News Minute. 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 February 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  13. ^ a b "This is why June 2 became Ilaiyaraaja's birthday – The Times of India". The Times of India. 2 June 2020. Archived from the original on 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  14. ^ "திரை இசையில் திருப்பம் உண்டாக்கிய இளையராஜா கிராமிய இசைக்கு புத்துயிர் அளித்தார்". Maalai Malar. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  15. ^ a b "Humorist springs a surprise". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012.
  16. ^ "Raja and his rule". Deccan Herald. 30 March 2013. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  17. ^ a b Mohan, A. 1994. Ilaiyaraja: composer as phenomenon in Tamil film culture. M.A. thesis, Wesleyan University (pp. 106–107).
  18. ^ a b Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (10 July 2014). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-94325-7. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  19. ^ Rangarajan, M. "Memorable evening in many ways".[usurped] The Hindu. 9 July 2004. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  20. ^ Ananthakrishnan, G.; Ramani, Srinivasan (4 June 2018). "Performance is an important component of a musical composition: Ilaiyaraaja". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  21. ^ Author unknown. "No point in classifying music, says Ilayaraja".[usurped] The Hindu. 19 June 2005. Retrieved 1 February 2007.
  22. ^ a b "MASTER OF MUSIC—"ISAI GNANI"—MR. ILAYARAJA". 9 May 2008. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  23. ^ Ramaswamy, Vijaya (25 August 2017). Historical Dictionary of the Tamils. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 155. ISBN 978-1-5381-0686-0. Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  24. ^ "T V Gopalakrishnan gets Sangita Kalanidhi award". The Times of India. 21 July 2014. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  25. ^ Gautam, S. "'Suhana safar' with Salilda".[usurped] The Hindu. 13 November 2004. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  26. ^ Chennai, S. "Looking back: flawless harmony in his music". Archived 7 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine The Hindu. 20 November 2005. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
  27. ^ Choudhury, R. 2005. The films of Salil Chowdhury: Introduction Archived 17 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  28. ^ Mujumdar, Neha (11 August 2012). "One of a kind". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  29. ^ Mujumdar, Neha (11 August 2012). "One of a kind". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  30. ^ Vijayakar, R. "The prince in Mumbai". Archived 1 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine Screen. 21 July 2006. Retrieved 6 February 2007.
  31. ^ "Let down by screenplay—Maayakkannaadi". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 April 2007. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012.
  32. ^ Greene, P.D. 2001. "Authoring the Folk: the crafting of a rural popular music in south India". Journal of Intercultural Studies 22 (2): 161–172.
  33. ^ Sivanarayanan, A. 2004. Translating Tamil Dalit poetry. World Literature Today 78(2): 56–58.
  34. ^ "The Ilaiyaraaja interview: 'Why should filmmakers know about music creation?'". The Hindu. 4 June 2018. Archived from the original on 26 September 2022.
  35. ^ "Why many Ilaiyaraaja songs sound as if they emerged from a jam session with Salil Chowdhury". The Hindu. 31 March 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  36. ^ Baskaran, S.T. "Music for the people".[usurped] The Hindu. 6 January 2002. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
  37. ^ a b c d Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542–546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia—The Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Pub. (p. 544).
  38. ^ "'Ilaiyaraaja 75': A tribute to the music icon to be held on Feb 2 and 3 in Chennai". The News Minute. 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  39. ^ Ramachandran 2014, p. 140.
  40. ^ "The Raja still reigns supreme". The Hindu. 21 October 2005. Archived from the original on 31 August 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  41. ^ Chelangad, Saju (2 April 2018). "Jijo and his 3D dream that resulted in 'My Dear Kuttichathan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  42. ^ TIME Magazine. 2005. 23220, nayakan, 00.html All-TIME 100 Movies[dead link]. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  43. ^ Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542–546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia—The Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Pub. (pp. 544–545).
  44. ^ Oriental Records. Undated. Nothing But Wind Archived 6 November 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 19 November 2006.
  45. ^ Viswanathan, S. 2005. A cultural crossover[usurped]. Frontline 22 (15), 16–29 July. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  46. ^ Parthasarathy, D. 2004. Thiruvasagam in 'classical crossover'[usurped]. The Hindu, Friday, 26 November. Retrieved 1 March 2007.
  47. ^ Soman, S. 2006. 'The Music Messiah' Archived 5 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Hindu, Saturday, 30 December. Retrieved 27 February 2007.
  48. ^ The Hindu Net Desk (30 May 2020). "Ilaiyaraaja and SPB join hands for 'Bharath Bhoomi'". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  49. ^ "A song of tribute: Ilayaraja's salute to COVID-19 warriors". Deccan Chronicle. 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  50. ^ "Maestro Ilaiyaraaja pays tribute to COVID-19 warriors, releases song sung by SPB". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  51. ^ "Ilaiyaraaja to launch OTT app soon". The Hindu. 2 June 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2 July 2020. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  52. ^ "Songs from Miss Lovely". sweetsoundtrack.com. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
  53. ^ "The Lovebirds (2020) – Official Trailer". Archived from the original on 18 December 2021 – via YouTube.
  54. ^ Mehar, R. 2007. Hip-hopping around the world Archived 16 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine. The Hindu, 17 October. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
  55. ^ "Sempoi by Rabbit Mac". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  56. ^ "Alphant – An Indian Dream (Original Mix)". Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  57. ^ Rangarajan, M. "The Raja still reigns supreme".[usurped] The Hindu. 21 October 2005. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  58. ^ Van Ryssen, S. "Ilaiyaraaja's Musical Journey". Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine Leonardo Digital Review. December 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2007.
  59. ^ "Ithu Ilaiyaraja". Archived 1 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Hindu. 1 July 2005. Retrieved 13 October 2006.
  60. ^ a b "Ilayaraja concert and Yeto Velli Poyindi music launch – idle brain". idlebrain.com. 5 September 2012. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  61. ^ Trinity Events [1] Archived 1 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  62. ^ "Ilaiyaraaja's live concert – Raja the Raja". Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  63. ^ "Ilaiyaraaja, the maestro who hears unheard melodies". The Hindu. 2 June 2018. Archived from the original on 5 October 2022.
  64. ^ Rangarajan, M. "From Texas to tinsel town". Archived 16 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Hindu, 15 October 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2007.
  65. ^ Ashok Kumar, S.R. "Variety fare for Pongal".[usurped] The Hindu. 9 January 2004. Retrieved 1 February 2007.
  66. ^ a b c "Ilayaraja performs for the first time in Houston". 13 March 2018. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  67. ^ "Why many Ilaiyaraaja songs sound as if they emerged from a jam session with Salil Chowdhury". The Hindu. 31 March 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  68. ^ Venkatraman, S. 1995. "Film music: the new intercultural idiom of 20th century Indian music". pp. 107–112 in A. Euba and C.T. Kimberlin (eds.). Intercultural Music Vol. I. Bayreuth: Breitinger (p. 111).
  69. ^ "Award Winning Composer ilayaraja's Film Soundtrack Released : Love and Love Only Film Score Available Ahead of Indian-Australian Film Debut—The Indian Telegraph". theindiantelegraph.com.au. 3 May 2016. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  70. ^ Baskaran, Sundararaj Theodore (1 January 2009). History through the lens: perspectives on South Indian cinema. Orient Blackswan. p. 82. ISBN 978-81-250-3520-6. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
  71. ^ Emmanuel Anthony Das (1 September 2010). The Bestconferred is Yet to Be. Pustak Mahal. p. 7. ISBN 978-81-223-1144-0. Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  72. ^ "Mr.Viji Manuel talks about Symphony by Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja". 19 October 2015. Archived from the original on 30 April 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2015 – via YouTube.
  73. ^ "The Hindu : Ilayaraja's books". The Hindu.
  74. ^ "CD Review: Ilaiyaraaja / Thiruvasagam | Finndian". Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  75. ^ Greene, P.D. 1997. Film music: Southern area. Pp. 542–546 in B. Nettl, R.M. Stone, J. Porter and T. Rice (eds.). The Garland Encyclopedia of World Music. Volume V: South Asia—The Indian Subcontinent. New York: Garland Pub. (p. 545).
  76. ^ S. Theodore Baskaran "Jnana To Gana: Consistent eclecticism has kept Tamil film music virile" Archived 16 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Outlookindia.com, 26 June 2006.
  77. ^ "Ilayaraja 75: AR Rahman, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth attend celebration of legendary composer's illustrious career". Firstpost. 5 February 2019. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  78. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  79. ^ Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. 2006. Directorate of Film Festivals at the Wayback Machine (archived 18 April 2007). Archived from the original on 18 April 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2006.
  80. ^ "Ilaiyaraaja gets Padma Vibhushan". Behindwoods.com. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  81. ^ "Award Shows Modi Govt Respects Tamil People a Lot: Ilayaraja on Getting Padma Vibhushan". news18.com. 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  82. ^ "Ilayaraja gets Sangeet Natak Akademi award". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 24 December 2012. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2013.
  83. ^ a b "THE WORLD'S TOP TEN". BBC World Service.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  84. ^ "CD Review: Ilaiyaraaja / Thiruvasagam | Finndian". Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
  85. ^ Forler, Achille (28 March 2017). "My songs, my royalties". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 March 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  86. ^ "Why many Ilaiyaraaja songs sound as if they emerged from a jam session with Salil Chowdhury". The Hindu. 31 March 2018. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  87. ^ "An Artiste of the Millennium: Ilaiyaraaja at 75". The Wire. 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 15 September 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2022.
  88. ^ "100 Best Albums Ever". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  89. ^ Bhandari, Shashwat (6 July 2022). "Celebrated athlete PT Usha, Philanthropist Veerendra Heggade among 4 nominated for Rajya Sabha". www.indiatvnews.com. Archived from the original on 6 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  90. ^ "Music from the past". The Hindu.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  91. ^ Staff reporter. "Ilaiyaraja's daughter gets engaged". Archived 29 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine The Hindu. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 3 March 2007.
  92. ^ "Music maestro Ilayaraja's wife passes away". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 1 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011.
  93. ^ "Illayaraja: Gangai Amaran get together again". Behindwoods. 12 March 2005. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  94. ^ "Musical brothers Ilaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaren reunite after 13 years – Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  95. ^ "Gangai Amaran's happy note on reuniting with his brother Ilayaraja after years! – Viral photos – Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 17 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  96. ^ "Illayaraja's legal notice to SPB: SP Balasubrahmanyam says he will obey the law". 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  97. ^ "Gangai Amaran slams brother Ilaiyaraaja, says legal notice to SPB is 'foolishness'". 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
  98. ^ "Christ remark: Plaint filed against Ilayaraja". The Times of India. 29 March 2018. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  99. ^ "Ilaiyaraaja: 'There are no composers today, only programmers'". The Hindu. 16 March 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  100. ^ "The sound of criticism: How Ilaiyaraaja's comparison of Ambedkar and Modi triggered a political row". Firstpost. 19 April 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

Bibliography

Further reading

  • Prem-Ramesh. 1998 Ilaiyaraja: Isaiyin Thathuvamum Alagiyalum (trans.: Ilaiyaraja: The Philosophy and Aesthetics of Music). Chennai: Sembulam.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 1998 Vettaveli Thanil Kotti Kidakkuthu (trans.: My Spiritual Experiences) (3rd ed.). Chennai: Kalaignan Pathipagam. → A collection of poems by Ilaiyaraaja
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 1998 Vazhithunai. Chennai: Saral Veliyeedu.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 1999 Sangeetha Kanavugal (trans.: Musical Dreams) (2nd ed.). Chennai: Kalaignan Pathipagam. → An autobiography about Ilaiyaraaja's European tour and other musings.
  • Ilaiyaraaja. 2000 Ilaiyaraajavin Sinthanaigal (trans.: Ilaiyaraaja's Thoughts). Chennai: Thiruvasu Puthaka Nilayam.
  • Srinivasan, Pavithra (20 September 2010). "Making Music, Raja-style". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 26 January 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ilaiyaraaja.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ilaiyaraaja&oldid=1181778801"