Tamil music industry is quite rich in terms of talent and quality. Tamil Nadu is more famous for its carnatic classical music. This music tradition has been maintained for ages and the state has given us numerous talents in the arena. Tamil film music is yet to become as prominent as carnatic classical music. Understandably, Tamil music being the regional one, it has its own followers and in southern states it is one of most popular form of music. Numerous musicians in the region have composed wonderful songs that have gained huge popularity. The state has wonderful musical talents in singing as well as composing. But two names that dwarf all others are the legendary Illayaraja and incomparable A R Rahman. These two names have completely redefined the standard of music in Tamil music industry. Music directors are a talented breed whose primary job is to compose music that we would love to hear. However, that’s easier said than done. Songs by these two have fed generations of music lovers. The only reaction one gives is of amazements and gratitude towards these two.

Music can take you to a different world. For Tamil music lovers, despite the arrival of many new forms of music, songs by these two maestros are given first preference. Their music has no bounds. It is being said that music is a healer and from that perspective, perhaps Ilayaraja and A R Rahman have remained the greatest healers. Their fan following has kept increasing and the appetite of the fans show no signs of fatigue. To their credit, they have composed music for films as well as numerous charities. There are several other music composers in Tamil music industry like Yuvan Shankar Raja, Harris Jayaraj, Vishal Shekhar, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Ismail Darbar and Deva etc but none of them could really beat them as far as popularity is concerned. We will talk about these maestros in separate articles.