Mani ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja

It is one pleasant coincidence that two of the most-loved legends in Tamil cinema share the same birthday. Mani Ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja have June 2 as their birthdays, and the maverick filmmaker and the maestro have collaborated together on several memorable — and path-breaking — albums. It is definitely a challenge to pick just five albums from one of Tamil cinema's greatest combos, but we give it a try...

Agni Natchathiram

In a partnership that has several peaks, this album is inarguably the pinnacle. For an album that was made in 1988, the music was so ahead of its time — and it still is, in many aspects. 

Thalapathi

This retelling of Karnan's story from the Mahabharata is definitely a showcase of what the Mani Ratnam-Ilaiyaraaja combo meant for Tamil film music. This is an album in which every song would find a mention in the greatest hits.  

Mouna Ragam

This is the film that kick-started the Mani Ratnam wave and the music oozes class, that distinctive quality which has become the hallmark of a Mani Ratnam film. 

Idhaya Kovil

This might be Mani Ratnam's least favourite among his films, and with songs that sound conventional when compared to his other works with Ilaiyaraaja, but this was also proof of how commercial can also ooze class. This album also has some of the simplest and most soulful songs that one might have heard in the soundtracks of the mid-80s.

Nayakan

It is one of the greatest films made in India and it has a soundtrack that's equally exceptional. If the haunting Thenpandi Seemayaile, in the voices of both Ilaiyaraaja and the film's lead star, Kamal Haasan, is the soul of the album, the divine duet Nee Oru Kadhal Sangeetham is its beating heart. 

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