Composer, arranger, singer, screenwriter, and multi-instrumentalist R. Gnanathesikan – born on June 2, 1943, in Pannaipuram, Tamil Nadu, India – is better known as Ilaiyaraaja. One of the most popular composers in the Indian film industry, he is best-known for his work in Tamil cinema (Kollywood) and Telugu cinema (Tollywood). He is also known for blending traditional Indian folk music with modern film orchestration. Throughout his career, he has smoothly mixed other genres into his music including afro-tribal, bossa nova, disco, doo-wop, flamenco, western folk, funk, Indian classical, jazz, rock'n'roll and even psychedelic rock. Ilaiyaraaja’s musical journey began at the age of 14 when he joined his older brother's group, Pavalar Brothers, and performed thousands of concerts throughout Southern India for the next decade. Although a busy performer, Ilaiyaraaja spent his free time focused on composing music. By the 1970s, he was a popular session musician, performing either guitar or keyboards on film scores for directors such as Salil Chowdhury. Ilaiyaraaja then became the music assistant to G.K. Venkatesh, the composer best-known for his work in Kannada cinema (Sandalwood). Ilaiyaraaja worked on 200 film projects with Venkatesh before deciding to focus on his own compositions. In 1975, he composed music for director Devaraj Mohan’s film Anakkili, which opened the door to working on films by directors such as Bharathiraja, S. P. Muthuraman, Mahendran, Balu Mahendra, K. Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Sathyan Anthikkad, Priyadarshan, Fazil, Vamsy, K. Vishwanath, Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Bala, Shankar Nag, and R. Balki. Ilaiyaraaja is acknowledged as one of the most prolific composers in the world, with more than 7,000 songs to his credit in over 1,000 films. In 1993, he became the first Indian to compose a complete symphony performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, England. In 2005, Ilaiyaraaja composed the critically acclaimed Thiruvasakam in Symphony, which incorporated a selection of ancient Tamil poems written by ninth century saint Manikkavacakar. Ilaiyaraaja has recorded thousands of songs for films, but he has also released many non-film instrumental albums Including How to Name It? (1986), The Secret of Ramayana (1992), Manikantan Geet Mala (2008), and Bharath Bhoomi (2020). In 2022, he released Ilaiyaraaja Reimagined, a collaboration with Kirk Spencer, which features "Kanne Kalaimane".
