Australian Parliament honours Ilaiyaraaja with ceremonial stamp marking his 50 years in cinema

CHENNAI: Legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja has been honoured with a special postage stamp released in the Australian Parliament, marking his 50 years in the film industry.

The stamp features a portrait of the musician along with details of his career.

In a post on X, Ilaiyaraaja thanked Australian Finance Minister Enver Erdogan MP and members of the Victorian government for the honour, calling it a deeply moving moment. He also shared a video where he can be seen thanking the country's government officials for the honour.

"Being born in a small village in Tamil Nadu and being honoured in the Australian Parliament is a truly moving experience," Ilayaraja wrote. He also expressed gratitude to the artists who have worked with him over the years and to generations of fans who have embraced his music.

The honour comes as Ilaiyaraaja completes 50 years in Tamil cinema this year. He made his debut as a music composer with the 1976 film Annakkili. Over the course of his career, he has composed music across multiple languages and scored for more than 1,500 films.

In September last year, the Tamil Nadu government felicitated the composer at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai to mark his 50 years in cinema.

Recently, Ilaiyaraaja was also in the news after the Film Federation of India announced the Marathi thriller Gondhal, for which he composed the music, as India’s official entry for next year’s Oscars in the International Feature Film category.

Meanwhile, Ilaiyaraaja has composed the original soundtrack (OST) for Dorothy, which is set to release on the 25th. The album was released ahead of the film's theatrical release, and has received a tremendous response.