Rajinikanth, who has known Ilaiyaraaja from the early ’70s, presented a little known side of the composer. “Raaja sir was very naughty and mischievous, he would love to gossip! After our (music) sessions we would go on to our drinking sessions which would continue until the wee hours. But after a gap of few years, when I met him again, I saw a transformation in Raaja sir… he dressed differently... I started calling him Raaja Swami.
He is a saint now as Mata Saraswati lives in him.” The superstar also commented on the fact that being so busy with his work in South films, Raaja never had enough time to work on too many Bollywood soundtracks. “Raaja sir had surrendered completely to God... it is a mistake of the Almighty who did not bring him (much) to Hindi filmdom.”
