JOIN USBirthday special 5 awesome facts about Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja, widely regarded as one of the greatest music composers in Indian cinema, has enthralled music lovers across industries with his enviable body of work. On Wednesday, as the maestro turns a year older, here is a look at five facts you most probably did not know about the legend.
Learnt from the best
Ilaiyaraaja honed his skills by working as an assistant to Bollywood legend Salil Chowdhury, who composed music for classics such as Anand and Chhoti Si Baat. The seasoned music director was quite impressed by his skills and had once remarked that the then-newcomer would have a successful career, a prophecy that proved to be true. 'Isaignani' also shared a good professional rapport with Sandalwood icon G K Vemkatesh.
A genius
Ilaiyaraaja usually works at a lightning pace and is known for wrapping up projects in record time. Director R Balki once told Galatta that the veteran composed the popular song Piddly from Shamitabh in three seconds, which is something only a genius can do. He also composed the entire soundtrack of Thalapathi in 45 minutes.
Not the first choice for 'Hey Ram'
Ilaiyaraaja's music was an integral part of Kamal Haasan's magnum opus Hey Ram and added depth to the already gripping narrative. While everyone is aware of its legacy, not many know that the Cheeni Kum composer wasn't the original choice for the biggie. Kamal roped in violinist L Subramaniam to do the honours but he left the project after most of the sequences had been shot. 'Ulaga Nayagan' eventually approached Ilaiyaraaja, who rescued him from the difficult situation.
The Mani Ratnam connect
The ace composer shared a good professional equation with Mani Ratnam, who too celebrates his birthday today. The two worked together in films such as Nayakan and Thalapathi, emerging as a force to be reckoned with. They eventually parted ways following which the ace filmmaker decided to give then-newcomer A R Rahman a break with Roja. ARR and 'Mani sir' have been a formidable duo since.
He's an international sensation
He received a fair deal of international attention with his popular number Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu from Thalapathi, which was named the fourth most popular song in a survey conducted by BBC in 2003. Ilaiyaraaja's compositions Kaatukuyilu and Yeh Hawa Yeh Fiza were sampled by English rapper M.I.A and American vocalist Gonjasufi, respectively.