Mani Ratnam started off his career with Ilaiyaraaja by his side and they together rewrote the meaning of commercial as well as classical music in Kollywood. When everyone had thought the deadly combination of Raja,
Mani and Vairamuthu would go on forever, it unfortunately, had to come to an end, giving rise to new phenomena. But most importantly, before they parted ways due to creative differences, they vigorously waved their magical wands to create music that was never heard before, be it songs or background score.
What could be a better day than their birthday to revisit their brilliant works and thereby give ourselves an opportunity to not only remember their wonderful partnership but also honour these two legendary personalities of Indian cinema by doing so.
Pallavi Anu Pallavi Being Mani Ratnam's first movie, he was introduced to Ilaiyaraaja by Balu Mahendra(cameraman of this Kannada flick). It is reported that Mani Ratnam approached Ilaiyaraaja by saying he would like him
to compose music for this small budget movie. Mani also confessed that he can't afford to pay Ilaiyaraaja his actual market price. Ilaiyaraaja agreed and composed for the film taking only one-fifth of his actual remuneration at that time.
Unaru Unaru happens to be Mani Ratnam's second film and is a Malayalam flick. His association with Ilaiyaraaja continued as the acclaimed musician composed music for this Mohanlal starrer. Well known songs in this movie includes 'Deepame' and 'Theeram thedi olam padi', both sung by S Janaki.
