Bhavatharini Raja (23 July 1976 – 25 January 2024) was an Indian playback singer and composer. She was the only daughter of noted composer

Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and playback singer popular for his works in Indian cinema, predominately in Tamil cinema, Tamil in addition ...

and sister of

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979), is an Indian composer and playback singer. He mainly scores music for Tamil films along with few Telugu, Kannada, and Hindi films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use o ...

and

Karthik Raja Karthik Raja (born 29 June 1973) is an Indian composer and playback singer based in Chennai. He made his debut as a film composer in the Tamil film ''Pandiyan'' (1992) and went on to score music for many critically and commercially acclaimed f ...

. Starting her career in the 1990s, she mostly sang songs under the direction of her father and brothers. She was awarded the

National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer is an honour presented annually at the National Film Awards of India since 1968 to a female playback singer for the best renditions of songs from films within the Cinema of India, Indian fi ...

in 2000 for her rendition of the song "Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu" from the film '' Bharathi'', composed by her father.

Career

Bhavatharini Raja made her debut as a playback singer for '' My Dear Kuttichathan''. From then onwards, she mostly sang on albums composed by her father and brothers. In 2001, she won the National Award for the song "Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu" in the movie '' Bharathi'' (the music director was her father). Bhavatharini turned as a composer for the 2002 film ''

Mitr, My Friend ''Mitr, My Friend'' is a 2002 Indian English-language drama film directed by Revathi in her directorial debut, and written by V. Priya and Sudha Kongara. The film stars Shobana, Nasir Abdullah and Preeti Vissa. Set partly in India and the US the f ...

'', directed by

Revathi Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi and ...

, starring

Shobhana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970); known mononymously as Shobana, is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer, who works predominantly in Malayalam films, in addition to Tamil language, Tamil, Telugu language, Telugu, Hindi lan ...

. She then forayed into the Telugu film industry with '' Avuna'' (2003). She also composed music for '' Phir Milenge'', also directed by Revathi, starring Shilpa Shetty,

Abhishek Bachchan Abhishek Bachchan (; born 5 February 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer known for his work in Hindi films. Part of the Bachchan family, he is the son of actors Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. From 2012 to 2016, Bachchan appeared in ...

and

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...

. In June 2012, she was roped in to score the tunes for ''

Vellachi ''Vellachi'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil language, Tamil-language romance film written and directed by Velu Vishwanath. The film stars newcomers Pintu Pandu and Suchitra Unni. The music was composed by Bhavatharini with cinematography by Sai Natraj ...

'', a village-based project.

Personal life and death

Bhavatharani studied at Rosary Matric School in

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. This was followed by higher secondary school in Adarsh Vidyalaya, Peters Road, Chennai. Bhavatharini was married to an advertising executive, R. Sabariraj, son of S.N. Ramachandran. Ramachandran is a former journalist who went into publishing and started ''Kannan Advertising''. The couple did not have children. Bhavatharini died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

on 25 January 2024, at the age of 47, while being treated for the disease in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, Sri Lanka. Her body was taken to her father's home in Chennai, and later to her ancestral village, where she was cremated.

Discography

As playback singer

Tamil

Malayalam

Kannada

Telugu

Hindi

Non-film songs

Television

As composer

Filmography

Onscreen appearances

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhavatharini 1976 births 2024 deaths Ilaiyaraaja Tamil playback singers Indian women playback singers Musicians from Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Indian film score composers Women film score composers 21st-century Indian composers Indian Tamil people Indian women songwriters Indian songwriters 21st-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers Best Female Playback Singer National Film Award winners Singers from Tamil Nadu Women musicians from Tamil Nadu 21st-century Indian women composers Deaths from liver cancer in Sri Lanka