Ilaiyaraaja’s daughter and National Award-winning singer Bhavatharini passes away at 47

National Award-winning playback singer and the daughter of the legendary music director Ilaiyaraaja, Bhavatharini, passed away on Thursday at the age of 47. It was reported that she lost her battle with liver cancer while undergoing treatment in Sri Lanka.

Bhavatharini, renowned for her heartfelt performances, had been fighting cancer and passed away at approximately 5 pm today in Sri Lanka. Her remains will reportedly be repatriated to Chennai on January 26, where the last rites will take place.

Ilaiyaraaja’s close friend and actor-filmmaker Bharathiraja expressed his grief on social media, saying, “How will I console my dear friend? Bhavatharani’s death is an irreplaceable loss to our family.”

After making her singing debut in the song Raasaiya, Bhavatharini went on to showcase her melodious voice in many Tamil films. She sang for various composers including her father Ilaiyaraaja, as well as her brothers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja. Additionally, she contributed her vocals to music by Deva and Sirpy.

In 2002, Bhavatharini began her journey in music composition with the film Mitr, My Friend directed by Revathy, and went on to work on projects like Phir Milenge and various other films. Her most recent musical project was for the Malayalam movie Maayanadhi.

Bhavatharini has a vast collection of popular songs for Tamil movies like Kadhalukku Mariyadhai, Bharathi, Azhagi, Friends, Paa, Mankatha, and Anegan. She also received the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her Tamil song Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu from Bharathi.

The singer is survived by her husband R Sabariraj