Legendary composer Ilaiyaaraja who has made tunes for over 1500 films so far, becoming an indispensable part of every household in India for decades, notes that he is still continuing to learn till date.
The Padma Bhushan awardee was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 11th Ajanta Ellora International Film Festival (AIFF) held at the MGM campus in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar where he was honoured with the Padmapani Award by AIFF Chairperson Nandkishore Kagliwal, MGM University Chancellor Ankushrao Kadam, Oscar-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty. Addressing the crowd, Ilaiyaraaja credited his longevity to the fire inside him that continues to drive him to learn new aspects of music when change knocks at his door. "I don't know music," the composer remarked when speaking about how he creates varied tunes and songs.
"I just arrived here (to the event) after finishing the background score for my 1,541st film. People ask me how I come up with a particular song or tune. I tell them, I don't know music. That is why I am still working. If I knew everything about music, I would have stayed home thinking I have mastered it," he said.
During the function, attendees also paid respects to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a plane crash on Wednesday.
Sharing his journey so far in the industry, Ilaiyaraaja mentioned how technological advancements have made composing songs a simpler affair than how it was a few decades ago.
"Music was different when I started off 50 years ago around 1968, because there was no technology in those times. Today, making music has become easy with electronic instruments and keyboards. This has led to composers in every household," he explained.
Despite the advancements, Ilaiyaraaja continues to records his music with a live orchestra as only live instruments can bring emotions. "I write down the notations for every single instrument for my musicians. I am not against electronic instruments, but the emotion from the music can only come with live instruments," he said.
