Ilaiyaraaja: ‘No musicians today, only programmers’

Music cues are everywhere at Ilaiyaraaja’s new tasteful studio in Kodambakkam, Chennai. The frescoes of musical instruments adorn the walls of most of the rooms. The wall in front of the recording room depicts a musical legend, art filled with musical notes.

Inside, the 78-year-old musician is busy with last-minute preparations for his upcoming concert: ‘Rock with Raja’, which will be the first major concert in the city after two years of the pandemic.

“These last two years were a dark period for many,” says Ilaiyaraaja, who is popularly known as ‘Isaigani’ for his musical expertise. He further says, “Even during that time my music was his companion. Now, this is a chance to give them a chance to experience it personally… I am sure this will give them hope for better times ahead.

Although he has attended thousands of concerts around the world, it will be different, he promised. In a notable departure from his soft tunes, this time he says he is focusing on “fun” – in the promo he has urged people to ‘dance to his songs’. “Yeah, that’s a clue,” he smiles, “but I can’t elaborate on that.” While fans will miss singers like the late SP Balasubramaniam On stage, ‘Rock With Raja’ might surprise a few, with a line-up of singers including names like Mano, Kartik, Shweta Mohan and Devi Sri Prasad.

‘Where are the musicians?’

The past few years have seen major changes on the music front, with words like ‘viral’ and ‘idea’ becoming key indicators of success. Ilaiyaraaja, however, is not surprised by the metrics of social media. “My music has been viral for four decades, right,” he said, “If a song is on people’s minds for just a week, how can you call it viral? There are no musicians in the film industry today; There are only programmers. There are so many new singers and voices out there today, but do anything stand the test of time? That era is gone with KJ Yesudas and SP Balasurahmanyam…”

Ilaiyaraaja has experimented with many musical styles with over a thousand films. “There are only four-five situations in the cinema. That’s why AR Rahman once gave a statement that he got bored while composing for films. The same themes of love, love failure and unrequited love keep repeating themselves. Today even the songs celebrating mother and sister are not being accepted by the audience. It’s all because the songs are being sung by singers whose vocals don’t exactly match the characters who voice it on screen.”

Nevertheless, Ilaiyaraaja has a busy year ahead, with upcoming cinema projects by directors Vetrimaaran and Seenu Ramasamy. He is also about to work on an Indo-English project titled a beautiful breakup, directed by Ajitvasan Uggina. “I am someone who always encourages new talent,” he explains, explaining why he has such a diverse range of projects. “When Mani Ratnam came to me, he was just getting started; I accepted them because I wanted to promote newcomers to the industry.

music for courage

A few months ago, a music enthusiast named Seethalakshmi famously went through breast cancer surgery while singing Ilaiyaraaja’s popular 1990 number ‘Karpoora Bommai Ondru’. Keladi KanmaniEarlier, social media was also doing the rounds of stories of a child who was unwell, but recovered from the stress of ‘Thiruvasagam’. Explaining why he thinks this concert is important, after two very challenging years, Ilaiyaraaja says, “Most of these songs are actually done for cinematic status, but I didn’t know that the audience’s interest was there. Beach it had so much power… Music can not only heal, but also hide the pain that you go through in your daily life.

Rock With Raja is on March 18 at 6 pm at Island Ground. For tickets visit Insider.in