Singer Bhavatharini passes away at the age of 47 

Singer-composer Bhavatharini passed away on Thursday in Sri Lanka. The daughter of veteran music director Ilaiyaraaja succumbed to cancer and was 47 years old.

Bhavatharini was known for her soulful vocals, a unique voice, and won the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu" from the film Bharathi (2000).

She began her career in playback singing at the young age of 8 with "Thithithey Thaalam" from the Malayalam film My Dear Kutt Kuttichathan, composed by father Ilaiyaraaja. Though she went on to sing multiple chorus songs in Anjali, along with her brothers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja and cousins Venkat Prabhu and Premgi Amaren, in her early teens, it was "Masthana Masthana," from the Prabhudheva-Roja starrer Raasaiyya, that introduced her as a full-fledged singer.

The voice, bearing no resemblance to established singers then, was unanimously embraced by the audience, and she went on to deliver multiple chartbusters, singing mainly in her father Ilaiyaraaja's compositions. Songs like "Idhu Sangeetha Thirunalo" from Kadhaluku Mariyadhai and "En Veetu Jannal Etti" from Raman Abdullah further cemented her image as an exceptional rural and melody singer. She also proved her versatility with western numbers like "Madonna Paadala" and "Laila Laila" from Kaadhala Kaadhala, composed by her elder brother Karthik Raja.

Meanwhile, her younger brother Yuvan Shankar Raja gave her memorable hit numbers like "Nee Illai Endral" from Dheena, "Poothathu Poothadhu" from Poovellam Kettupaar, and "Mercury Poove" from Puthiya Geethai. Notably, one of her last hit songs, "Meherezylaa" from Maanaadu, was composed by Yuvan.

Bhavatharini also lent her voice to the tunes of composers like Harris Jayaraj (Anegan), GV Prakash (Irumbu Kuthirai), and Karthik (Aravaan). Apart from Tamil, she has sung in languages like Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam.

Bhavatharini, known as a composer too, worked on many films, including those featuring major names like Salman Khan and Abhishek Bachchan (Phir Milenge). Debuting as a music director with the Hindi film Mitr, My Friend in 2002, she went on to compose in various languages, including Kannada and Tamil. Notably, she was signed to compose music for six films, which are yet to hit the screens.

Bhavatharini is survived by her husband, Sabariraj.