1 Profile

Yuvan Shankar Raja

Born: August 31, 1971 Movies: 31 Songs: 34

Profile

Alias: Yuvan, Yuvanshankar, YSR, U1
Age: 54 years
Birth Place: Madras, Tamil Nadu, India
City: Chennai
Occupation: Music Director, Singer
Languages: Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 59 kg
Eye Color: Black
Hair Color: Black
Education: Yuvan Shankar did his schooling at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary
Spouse: Shilpa Mohan, Sujaya Chandran
Parents: Ilaiyaraaja
Brothers: Karthik Raja
Sisters: Bhavatharini
Favourite Actors: Bhavatharini
Favourite Actresses: Bhavatharini

Summary

Yuvan Shankar Raja (born 31 August 1979) is a Tamil film score and soundtrack composer, singer and occasional lyricist. He has predominantly scored music for Tamil as well as several Telugu films. Son of noted film composer Ilaiyaraaja, he began his musical career in 1996, at age 16, as he composed the film score for Aravindhan. After initial struggle, he made his big break with the Thulluvadho Ilamai soundtrack (2001), and evolved as one of Tamil cinema's most sought-after composers by the mid-2000s.

Biography

Born on 31 August 1979, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu into a Tamil family, Yuvan Shankar Raja is the third and youngest child of musician and film composer Ilaiyaraaja and his late wife Jeeva. He is the younger brother of music director Karthik Raja and playback singer-cum-music director Bhavatharini. Yuvan once confessed, that his brother Karthik Raja is more talented than him, but did not get a successful break into the music business, since he did not get a "good team to work with".His father as well as his siblings have sung many songs under his direction. Film director and film composer Gangai Amaran and R. D. Bhaskar are his uncles and their sons Venkat Prabhu, Premji Amaran and Parthi Bhaskar, who are working in the Tamil film industry as well, are his cousins. Moreover, Yuvan Shankar and both the sons of Gangai Amaran, do often associate with each other and have often worked together, the results of which have been very successful Venkat Prabhu's films have had all musical score by Yuvan, while Premji had assisted him composing music for some years,[19] before becoming an independent composer aside from the fact, that both have sung several songs under the direction of Yuvan Shankar Raja. Yuvan Shankar did his schooling at St. Bede's Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School in Chennai, and discontinued his education after his tenth class. He started learning music from Jacob Master,attending piano classes at "Musee Musical" in Chennai, which is affiliated to Trinity College in London, UK. Yuvan Shankar Raja stated, that he always wanted to become a pilot and travel "all around the world", but as he grew up "with music around him", he eventually became a musician.[22] He admires the work of his father and other composers such as S. D. Burman, R. D. Burman, M. S. Viswanathan and Naushad and the voices of singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, P. B. Sreenivas and P. Susheela.

Facts & Trivia

Yuvan Shankar Raja married his longtime girlfriend Sujaya Chandran on 21 March 2005, at the Mayor Sri Ramanathan Chettiyar Hall in Chennai, India. Chandran had met him in 2002 as a fan at a music cultural program in London and both fell in love later. Chandran was a London-based singer and the daughter of Dr. C. R. Velayutham and Dr. Sarojini Chandran. They had a secret registered marriage in September 2003 in London, before the formal public wedding was held in 2005 with the consent of their parents. In August 2007, they filed for divorce with mutual consent, which was granted in February 2008, after 6 months. The reason for the divorce was cited to be "irreconcilable differences". On 1 September 2011, he married Shilpa Mohan at the Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. The marriage was held in a simple ceremony with only family members and close friends being present. Shilpa was revealed to be a B.Pharm graduate from the University of Adelaide, Australia. A wedding reception was arranged a day later in Chennai.