Legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja turns 83 today. On his birthday, a video surfaced online where the composer can be seen speaking about what childhood means to him and drawing a parallel with Michael Jackson's statement about it.

In the video, Ilaiyaraaja shares, "In some function, Michael Jackson said that he lost his childhood because there were no birthdays and other events were not celebrated in his house. In my house also, there was no celebration, whether it be birthday or any other event. Christmas, Pongal, and Deepavali come, but I never lost my childhood." The composer suggested that childhood is for everyone who remains a child at heart and said that one is always happy in this phase of life. "Michael Jackson, you said very wrong," the music director quipped.

Notably, Michael Jackson endured much trauma in his childhood even at a time when his family was rich. Joseph Jackson, the singer's strict father, made him rehearse and even hit him to make him improve his performance when he was part of the band with his brother. The legendary pop singer joined his brothers and formed a band known as 'The Jackson 5' at the time. The traumatic experience in his childhood made the singer acquire the 'Neverland Ranch,' his private residence cum amusement park. This is one part of his life explored in the recent biopic, Michael, starring his nephew, Jaafar Jackson.

On the other hand, Ilaiyaraaja grew up in a poor family. A book offering an autobiographical look at the composer, written by K Kalyan, talks about the composer finding joy in music while growing up in harsh conditions. Lack of access to costly musical instruments did not keep him from learning music from everything and being joyful this way. This seems to be what the composer alluded to in his latest video.