President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presenting the Padma Vibhushan Award to Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer and instrumentalist who has worked in over 1000 films in various languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, English, Marathi, Sanskrit, Punjabi with majority of his works in the Tamil language and widely regarded as the greatest Indian music composer of all-time by various critics and experts.[1]
Ilaiyaraaja has also worked as conductor and a songwriter. His songs and background score played a crucial role in the success of many of his films. He is widely regarded as one of the most popular composers in the South Indian film industry,[2] and also in the list of world's top selling music artists. Making his debut through Annakili, a Tamil film in 1976, Ilaiyaraaja has been a prominent composer of film music in South Indian cinema since the late 1970s. He integrated folk lyricism (in Tamil) and introduced broader Western musical sensibilities into the South Indian musical mainstream. A gold medalist in classical guitar from Trinity College of Music, London in 1993 he became the first Asian to compose a full symphony performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London's Walthamstow Town Hall. In 2010, he was bestowed upon Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian honour and the Padma Vibhushan in 2018, the second highest civilian honour by the Government of India.[3][4]
He was conferred the title Isaignani (English: Savant of Music) in 1988 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and also received the Kalaimamani award, an annual award for excellence in the field of arts from the Government of Tamil Nadu.[9] He also received State Government Awards from the governments of Tamil Nadu, Kerala (1994, 1995, 1998), Andhra Pradesh (1981, 1988, 1990) and Madhya Pradesh (The Lata Mangeshkar Award) (1998) for excellence in music. He is also a recipient of the NTR National Award in 2004.[10] Alongside he also won the Akshaya Samman of the year (2010), a prestigious musical award from Orissa for his outstanding contribution in the field of music.[11]
Ilaiyaraaja was awarded honorary doctorates by Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu, India (Degree of Doctor of Letter (Honoris causa)) (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). 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 John Abraham, Mayor Teaneck. In a 2003 BBC International poll, 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. [12] Ilayaraja was honoured with Sachin Dev Burman International award for creative music and sound in January 2012.
He was also nominated in the Best Indian album Music Awards category[13] at US based Just Plain Folks Music Organization, which is the largest grassroots music organization in the world, and stood third for his "Music Journey: Live in Italy".[13] In 2014, he has been chosen for his outstanding contribution to the Indian film music and was awarded the SIES Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswati National Eminence award.[14][15] On December 31, 2015, he was nominated by the Kerala Government for Nishagandi Puraskaram, the top award conferred by the Kerala Government's Tourism Ministry, for his artistic excellence and contributions to the Indian film industry.[16] In 2020, the annual Harivarasanam Award, jointly instituted by the Kerala state government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), was presented to Ilaiyaraaja.[17]
