Tamil film director Bharathiraja (third right) with the team of the movie ‘Pathinaru Vayathinile’. Also seen are music composer Ilaiyaraaja (second right) and singer S. Janaki (extreme right)
| Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
It was a friendship that weathered hardship, poverty and adversity before each one of the buddies scaled great heights in the film world. The friendship between Bharathiraja, maestro Ilaiyaraaja, his brothers Gangai Amaran and the late Bhaskar spans more than half a century, though it had its share of ups and downs. Bharathiraja and Ilaiyaraaja parted ways after working together for years, but eventually rekindled their friendship.
Ilaiyaraaja and Gangai Amaran paid their last respects to their longtime friend.
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“I pray from the bottom of my heart that his soul rests in peace. The relationship I shared with him was the same as the one I shared with all of you. It is my destiny to love this land, its people and its artistes. I pray to the Almighty,” Ilaiyaraaja said.
The moment inevitably brought back memories of their struggle to gain a foothold in the film industry. However, even before the movie Pathinaru Vayathinile, Ilaiyaraaja had announced his arrival in a big way with Annakili. The songs of Pathinaru Vayathinile, soaked in rustic charm and folk melodies, captured the imagination of the people. Senthoora Poove, penned by Gangai Amaran, won the National Award for singer S. Janaki.
A walk down the memory lane
Recalling those difficult days in a conversation with The Hindu in 2018, Ilaiyaraaja had said that in 1968, he, his brothers and a few friends boarded a bus to Chennai in search of a career in the film industry. The journey was anything but easy. Bharathiraja, who had worked with them in staging dramas, had already arrived in Chennai hoping to become an actor. Instead, he could only find work at a petrol bunk.
The group was forced to move into a small portion of a house at the end of Gangai Amman Koil Street, opposite Ram Theatre in Kodambakkam, after being evicted from a mansion where only three people were permitted to stay. Kamala, a singer in their troupe, arranged accommodation for them in an outhouse and allowed them to store their musical instruments at her house.
“Farming activities were still taking place in the area. Whenever I wanted to meet Dhanraj Master, I would take the 12B bus. The conductor, whose nickname was Fiddle, never charged me for a ticket. If a ticket inspector boarded the bus, he would immediately issue one to me,” Ilaiyaraaja recalled.
A ‘Navaratri’ tradition
That year, heavy rains during Navaratri made life miserable.
“There was waist-deep water everywhere and we had nothing to eat. Bharathiraja, my brother Bhaskar and I collected puffed rice and pottu kadalai distributed at shops from Ram Theatre to the Vadapalani Murugan Temple in paper cones made from The Hindu newspaper. For three days, we survived on that and water,” he said.
When he later narrated the incident to his wife, she suggested that food be served at their house for ten days during Navaratri every year and it still continues.
A reunion that never happened
Though Bharathiraja and Ilayaraja together made memorable films and songs, difference of opinion between them led to Bharathiraja roping in music director Devendran for the film Vedam Puthithu .
They again worked together for Ennuir Thozhan , Puthunellu Puthunaathu and Nadodi Thendral . Once again differences cropped up between them and A.R. Rahman became the sought after music director for Bharthiraja from Kizhakku Seemaiyile .
However. the duo agreed to work together in 2020 for the film Aatha. Writer and film director Bharathi Krishnakumar, who has penned the story for the movie, told The Hindu then: “After 28 years they are going to work together and it is again for a rural theme.” The production was supposed to start after the pandemic, but it never took off.
Published – June 10, 2026 01:36 pm IST
