Born and brought up in an obscure village near Kambam in Southern Tamil
Nadu, Ilayaraja became the first Asian to score a symphony for the
London Philharmonic Orchestra, besides scoring over 900 feature films in
a period of 35 years. Raja, as he is popularly known and affectionately
called, comes from a family of musicians. His mother, a huge repository
of Tamil folk songs, seems to be a very strong influence in his music.
He learned to play the harmonium, the typical musical instrument used in
street performances. The team of the brothers, the eldest being Pavalar
Varadharajan, a poet, worked as a group of musicians traveling across
the state, accompanying theater artists. Raja picked up most of his
acumen for audience tastes during this period.
In 1969, Raja
migrated to the city of Madras, the Southern Movie capital, when he was
29 years old, looking for a break into music making for the public. He
studied under Dhanraj Master, playing the guitar and piano in the
Western style. He later earned a diploma in music from Trinity College
in London. Ilayaraja's break into music for films came with
Annakili
(1976). The film dealt with a village story, to which Ilayaraja
composed great melodies. The songs offered simplicity and musicality
typical of Tamil folk in an authentic way, and they offered new
sounds--rich orchestration typical of Western music. The songs became an
instant hit, the most popular being "Machchana Partheengala" sung by a
female voice,
S. Janaki.
This was followed by a series of films that portrayed contemporary
Tamil villages in an authentic way, against stylistic shallow portrayals
before. For all of these films Raja created memorable songs. Most
popular were the songs "Senthoorappove" and "Aatukkutti Mutaiyittu" from
Pathinaru Vayathinile (1977), and "Samakkozhi" and "Oram Po" from
Ponnu Oorukku Pudhusu (1979).
Raja soon proved his abilities in other styles as well. classical Karnatic melodies were used in
Kannan Oru Kai Kuzhandhai
(1978) (Rag Mohanam), Mayile Mayile (Ragam Hamsadhwani), and Chinna
Kannan Azhaikiran (Reethi Gowlai). Raja's grasp of Western classical
structure became evident with his masterful use of the piano, guitar,
and string ensembles. Some of the numbers that show his orchestral
genius are "Pon malai Pozhudu" and "Poongadhave" from
Nizhalgal (1980), Kanmaniye Kadhal from
Aarilirindhu Aruvathu Varai (1979), "Ramanin Mohanam" from
Netri Kann (1981), "En Iniya Pon nilave from
Moodupani (1980), "Paruvame Pudhiya" from
Nenjathai Killathe (1981), and "Edho Moham" from
Kozhi Koovuthu
(1982). These songs could literally be heard coming from every doorstep
in Tamil Nadu state every day for at least a year after being released.
Raja composed film music prolifically for the next fifteen years, at a
rate of as many as three new songs a day. After a few years as a film
composer, he could write all the parts to a score as they came to him,
and his assistants would make fair copies, which would be recorded
immediately.
Raja went for a trip abroad to Europe, partly to visit places where
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Johann Sebastian Bach, and
Ludwig van Beethoven
lived. They were his Manasika Gurus or non-physical teachers, he wrote
once. He also met contemporary composers and arrangers including
Paul Mauriat.
His listeners were awestruck by the quality and quantity of his musical
output. He also scored a few films abroad. Ilayaraja's image grew to be
a unique one in the history of Tamil cinema: stories, themes, and
castes would be changed to fit his music, which swept away the minds of
millions of Indians in hundreds of films.
Ilayaraja also recorded
non-film albums, such as "How to Name It" and "Nothing But Wind," which
were well-received in India and abroad. In 1993, he wrote a symphony
for the London Philharmonic Orchestra in an amazing one-month span. To
many people who know him, Raja represents more than his music. He is a
mark of great achievement that is possible by hard work, yet he is seen
in most of his interviews as talking very philosophically. He is very
much attracted by the philosophy of Ramana Maharishi of Thiruvanna
Malai, who lived in the early 20th Century. Raja once referred to Ramana
as "our Zen master."
