Ilaiyaraaja's Tamil track was remixed by The Black Eyed Peas; read lesser-known facts

The musical maestro Illaiyaraja is celebrating his 77th birthday today. The star has been greeted by many of his fans and other celebrities on social media. Ilaiyaraaj has always been a keen music lover and it is known that he does not spend a day without music. The songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja is always adored by his fans, be it dance numbers to soulful songs. Here are some unknown facts about the maestro.

Lesser known facts of the maestro Illaiyaraja

• He started working as an assistant

Ilaiyaraaja's mother had once sent him with his elder brother Pavalar Varadarajan for one of his shows when his brother had fallen ill. Ilaiyaraaja used to sing songs to motivate his brother. It was with the help of his brother that Ilaiyaraaja began his musical journey. 

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• Ponmalai and Thiruverambur musical appreciation

In his early days, Ilaiyaraaja was praised at the musical shows Ponmalai and Thiruverumbur. These musical shows still remain  Ilaiyaraaja's favourite shows. The singer also shares unforgettable memories from them. 

• Ilaiyaraaja married his own sister's daughter

Ilaiyaraaja married his own sister's daughter Jeeva Rajayya. The couple has three children together. Two sons Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja and a daughter. All his children are film composers and singers too. 

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• He converted to Hinduism

Ilaiyaraaja was born Christian and he later converted to Hinduism. His son Yuvan Shankar Raja follows Islam. Ilaiyaraaja is said to be a worshipper of Lord Ramana Maharishi and Thaai Moogambigai.

• LR Easwari refused to work with him once

Ilaiyaraaja had once tried to get a popular singer LR Easwari to sing a song for his compositions. The singer refused to work with him because he was a beginner. Till date, Illaiyaraaja has never worked with LR Easwari.

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• He is fond of wearing expensive outfits

These days Ilaiyaraaja is only seen wearing a white kurta and dhoti. But the maestro was fond of wearing expensive and attractive outfits during his early career days. 

• He refused National Awards

A National award is one of the most prestigious appreciations that an artist gets for his notable work in India. Many work and dream to achieve it, but Ilaiyaraaja refused a National Award twice for several reasons. 

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• One of Illaiyaraaja's Tamil track was remixed by Black-eyed peas

The Black Eyed peas sampled Illaiyaraaja's composition Unnakkum Ennakum. This composition was picked for his song The Elephunk Theme from the album Elephunk. The original song was from the movie 'Sri Raghavendra'.