Today is the 73rd birthday of Isaignani Ilaiyaraja

The most celebrated musician of Indian cinema has also completed 40 years of film career in 2016. He has completed scoring music for 1,000 films, the largest number for any Indian film composer. He has written lyrics and crooned thousands of songs. He won his fifth national award for his 1000th film Tharai Thappattai' which was also his second for the Best Background Score.

While we see these as unparalleled records, the maestro consider them as just numbers. He never portrays his records as achievements. He has been scoring music and working in the music industry mainly for his eternal love for music and music has been his life blood

Even at this age he is one of the busiest composers in the highly competitive film music industry. He is currently working on more than 35 films in various Indian languages. In Tamil, his upcoming discography includes some big ticket films such as Kamal Haasan's Sabash Naidu', Amma Kanakku' produced by Dhanush, Kutramey Dhandanai' of director Manikandan Rajathandhiram 2', director Samuthirakani's Appa'.

Raja sir as he is fondly addressed by film industry people as well as fans has been a source of inspiration for many music directors and independent musician. All the younger generation music directors take pride in claiming themselves as a member of Raja fan brigade. He has given innumerable number of songs that provide solace to the listener. While he has been highly successful and popular in Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada language film industris he is a celebrated icon in Tamil Nadu and many people treat him as the next only to god. This affection and respect comes out of the gratitude for his music that has been an essential part of their lives in many ways.

In 2010, Ilaiyaraja has been conferred with Padma Bhushan, the third highest Civilian honor of Indian Government. The incumbent Union Government has also honored the legend with the Centenary Award for Life time Achievement in the year 2015.

However, it is a dream of his fans and admirers to see him get the prestigious Bharat Ratna. Music critics and veterans of the Indian music industry would vouch for the fact that his contribution to music deserves the highest civilian honor of the country. We hope this happens very soon.

IndiaGlitz wishes the legendary music composer a Happy Birthday and pray the almighty to bless him with a long and healthy life.