Ilayaraja aka Ilaiyaraaja turns 72; celebs wish the legend on his birthday

Ilayaraja, also spelt as Ilaiyaraaja, is turning a year older on Thursday, June 2, as he celebrates his 72nd birthday. The legend, as always, is keeping a low profile on his special day, while cine-goers across the globe are marking the day by cutting cakes and listening to his music.

Ilayaraja has left his imprint on not just Tamil but in Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages. Hence, people cutting across language barriers are celebrating his birthday and thanking him for entertaining them for four decades.

On the other hand, netizens have taken Twitter to wish Ilayaraja. Using multiple hash tags, they are remembering Isaignani's songs on his special day.

The Music Maestro started his career with "Annakili" in the year 1976. He has since then composed the music for 1,000 films and over 8,000 songs. Some of his hit albums are "Jhonny," "Nizhalgal," "Alaigal Oivathillai," "Kaadhal Oviyam," "Ninaivellam Nitya ," "Saagara Sangamam," "Sindhu Bairavi ," "Kadalora Kavithaigal," "Enga Ooru Paattukkaaran" and "Agni Nakshatram."

Celebrities, too, have joined the netizens in wishing the musician and setting trends on Twitter. Here, we bring you their comments on the legend:

Brinda Prasad: Happy Birthday to the Music Maestro #Ilayaraja Sir!! #thebest #forevermelodies

Robo Sankar: Happy birthday to #Ilayaraja-The one who made no one to hate music

Actor Karthi: Many more happy returns of the day #Ilayaraja sir! Thanks for teaching us to appreciate the beauty of music!

Bhavatharini: Happy birthday dad.. Love you loads... A small clip from my camera..

Venkat Prabhu: Happy birthday #rajapa #isaignani #music

Vivekh actor: @manam_online @vp_offl @Premgiamaren @drarunm @Aishwarya12dec @bhavatharini happybday to Raja sir n maniratnam sir!Legends of Indiancinema

Khushbusundar: And ofcoz HUGE Birthday wishes 2 the God of music #ILLAYARAJA.. day starts with him n ends with him..his music lives with us every moment.