Ilayaraaja born June 2, 1943 is an Indian film composer. He has composed over 5000 songs and provided background music for more than 840 Indian films in various languages in a career spanning more than 30 years. He has won the Indian National Film Awards for best music composition thrice. He had completed a course in classical guitar (higher local) with the Trinity College of Music in London. Career and music: Ilaiyaraja was born in a rural family in Pannaipuram near Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India.