Ilaiyaraaja was commemorated at an event organised by the Tamil Nadu government on completing 50 years in the film industry on Saturday. At the event, Rajinikanth spoke about the fallout between Ilaiyaraaja and late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam and how the former cried at the latter's demise, despite suing him in the past.

For the uninitiated, Ilaiyaraaja sued SP Balasubrahmanyam and a few other vocalists for performing his songs at concerts without permission or paying royalties. Eventually, though, the two musicians made up in 2019, just a year before the demise of SPB.

Rajinikanth recalled how SPB stopped singing Ilaiyaraaja's songs in concerts after the latter sued the former for the same. "SP Balasubrahmanyam went to America for a concert. Swami (Ilaiyaraaja) said he is singing my songs; he cannot, the law is the same for everyone. SPB got upset and decided to stop singing his songs.”

However, Ilaiyaraaja's bond with SPB was not limited to their fallout. In fact, he was so attached that he shed tears for the demise of the singer, and not even for his own family. Speaking about Vivek and SPB, he said, “No one can take their place. When SPB died from Covid, he (Ilaiyaraaja) did not shed tears for his brother, his wife, or his daughter. His tears were shed for his friend.”

Ilaiyaraaja was married to Jeeva Rajayya, with whom he had three children: Karthik Raja, Bhavatharini, and Yuvan Shankar Raja. Both Karthik and Yuvan are music composers. After Jeeva's passing in 2011 and Bhavatharini's recent death in January 2024 due to cancer, Ilaiyaraaja had a notable reunion with his brother Gangai Amaran in 2022, ending over a decade of estrangement.

Known for fiercely protecting his musical legacy, Ilaiyaraaja has been sending legal notices to film producers for unauthorised use of his compositions. Recently, he took action against Sun Pictures for using his song in the promotional track 'Coolie Disco' for Rajinikanth's film Coolie, as well as against the producers of Manjummel Boys and Good Bad Ugly.