Ilaiyaraaja was born as Gnanathesigan in a Dalit family belonging to Pannaipuram, in present-day Theni district, Tamil Nadu, India, on 3 June 1943. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the Indian upper house, Rajya Sabha, since July 2022.

In 2010, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian honour in India and was conferred the Padma Vibhushan in 2018, the second-highest civilian award by the government of India. In 2012, for his creative and experimental works in the field of music, he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, the highest Indian recognition given to people in the field of performing arts. Several awards for his works throughout his career. In 2014, the American world cinema portal, 'Taste of Cinema', placed him at 9th position in its list of 25 greatest film composers in the history of cinema, he's the only Indian in the list among names such as Ennio Morricone, John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith. In 2013, when CNN-IBN conducted a poll commemorating 100 years of Indian cinema, Ilaiyaraaja, secured 49% of the people's vote and was adjudged as the country's greatest music composer. He also composed Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006), the first Indian oratorio. In 1986, he became the first Indian composer to record a soundtrack with computer for the film Vikram. He was also one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Tamil film music, and the first South Asian to compose a full symphony. Ilaiyaraaja is nicknamed 'Isaignani' (the musical genius) and often referred to as ' Maestro', the title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Reputed to be one of the most prolific Indian composers, in a career spanning over forty-five years, he has composed over 7,000 songs and provided film scores for over 1,000 films, apart from performing in over 20,000 concerts. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil & Telugu films.

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