Ilaiyaraaja(born Gnanathesikan) is an Indian film composer who works in the South Indian cinema but predominantly in Tamil since the late 1970s. Regarded as one of the finest music composers in India,Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, singer, and songwriter. He has composed more than 6000 songs and provided film scores for more than 1000 films, particularly being acclaimed for his background scores.