Fifty years after his debut, Ilaiyaraaja remains one of the most celebrated composers in Indian cinema.
“Whenever the name Manjanathi came to my mind, I thought of adapting it into a film. Even then, I had decided that maestro Ilaiyaraaja should compose the music. When I met him and narrated the story, he agreed to score it,” the director said.
“Whenever the name Manjanathi came to my mind, I thought of adapting it into a film. Even then, I had decided that maestro Ilaiyaraaja should compose the music. When I met him and narrated the story, he agreed to score it,” the director said.
After playing his symphony ‘Valiant’ on Saturday, the ‘king of music’ greeted music lovers with a unique set of tracks, though the performance was marred by technical issues
Why does every mofussil bus driver in Tamil Nadu inevitably gravitate towards Ilaiyaraaja’s music? We find out
Annakili, the film that introduced maestro Ilaiyaraaja to Tamil cinema, was based on a real-life, tragic tale a midwife from Pappanaickenpatti, the native village of the film’s writer R. Selvaraj, in Madurai district
A three-minute tribute video celebrating 50 years of Ilaiyaraaja’s music will be released on May 16
If there had been no Panchu Arunachalam, there would have been no Ilaiyaraaja or Gangai Amaran. He was our first god. He lit the light in our lives, says Gangai Amaran, younger brother of Ilaiyaraaja, who was the rhythm guitarist for the film
A black-and-white film running successfully for 200 days was remarkable, and much of that achievement was due to the songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja, says actor Sivakumar
Fifty years have passed like a fleeting moment, but the songs of Annakili continue to haunt generations of music lovers. With the film’s release began the extraordinary musical journey of Ilaiyaraaja, whose career would later rise to unparalleled heights. Gangai Amaran, who worked closely with his brother during the composing sessions and served as the rhythm guitarist for the film, recalls those memorable days with B. Kolappan. “The higher octaves in the humming of the song ‘Annakili Unnai Theduthey’ symbolically foreshadowed the great heights Ilaiyaraaja was destined to achieve,” he said.
If there had been no Panchu Arunachalam, there would have been no Ilaiyaraaja or Gangai Amaran. He was our first god. He lit the light in our lives, says Gangai Amaran, younger brother of Ilaiyaraaja, who was the rhythm guitarist for the film
A black-and-white film running successfully for 200 days was remarkable, and much of that achievement was due to the songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja, says actor Sivakumar