Ilaiyaraaja reflects on music and AI at Akshaya Patra’s Silver Jubilee celebration

Veteran composer Ilaiyaraaja was the highlight of The Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Silver Jubilee celebration held in Bengaluru. The evening marked two significant milestones: 50 years of Ilaiyaraaja’s musical journey and 25 years of Akshaya Patra’s mission to serve meals to millions.

At the event, Ilaiyaraaja spoke candidly about the evolving relationship between music and artificial intelligence. Addressing the growing influence of AI in creative fields, he emphasised that technology can only work with existing material, while true music originates from within. “Music cannot be created by machines. It comes from within,” he explained. Expanding on the idea, the maestro noted that human intelligence and AI are often misunderstood as separate forces. “The so-called artificial is knowledge we acquire. AI works with what has already been made; it cannot create on its own. Music, like our names, comes naturally. It already exists within us,” he said.

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About Ilaiyaraaja

Ilaiyaraaja is one of India’s most influential and prolific musicians, widely celebrated for transforming the soundscape of Indian cinema. A composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer, his work spans Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films, among others. With a career stretching over 49 years, Ilaiyaraaja has composed more than 8,600 songs, scored music for around 1,523 feature films across nine languages, and performed at over 20,000 live concerts, making him a towering figure in global music history.

Fondly known as “Isaignani” (the musical sage), Ilaiyaraaja is also widely referred to as the “Maestro”, a title conferred by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London. Notably, he became the first Indian and Asian composer to compose, record and perform a full Western classical symphony, and in 1986, the first Indian composer to use computer-based recording for the film Vikram. His Thiruvasagam in Symphony (2006) marked India’s first oratorio.

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