Ilaiyaraaja

Ilaiyaraaja (born Gnanathesigan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist, and playback singer. He is known for his works in Indian cinema, predominantly in Tamil in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. He is one of the most prolific composers, having composed over 6500 songs and provided film scores for nearly 1500 feature films in nine languages by 2025. He has also performed many concerts. He was one of the earliest Indian film composers to use Western classical music harmonies and string arrangements in Indian film music. He is nicknamed "Isaignani" and is often referred to as "Maestro", the title conferred on him by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London.