Ilaiyaraaja has been honoured in Australia with a ceremonial stamp marking 50 years in cinema. The tribute comes amid his global concert tour, Oscar-linked Gondhal and 1540th film Dorothy.
While Ilaiyaraaja started his career from a tiny village in Tamil Nadu, he now gets a special stamp honour in Australia's Victoria's Parliament to celebrate the last five decades in films.
The stamp launch comes in a busy year for the maestro, whose golden jubilee celebrations are continuing across countries as well as his 1,540th film project, Dorothy, being ready for release soon.
Ilaiyaraaja Gets Special Stamp Honour In Australia
The commemorative stamp of Ilaiyaraaja was unveiled in Melbourne during a special event where Victorian Minister for Finance Enver Erdogan MP was present along with others.
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Ilaiyaraaja expressed his thanks to Enver Erdogan and Victorian parliamentarians for honouring his 50 years' journey into music. He also thanked the artists who collaborated with him and the listeners of his generation.
50 years, Concerts Across The Globe And A Busy 2026
As part of his celebrations of 50 years in the industry, Ilaiyaraaja has been doing concerts across the globe. Apart from concerts in North America and elsewhere, his itinerary in Australia is set to include Sydney on September 26 and Brisbane on October 5. His tour schedule includes concerts in Perth and Adelaide too.
In Chennai itself, Tamil Nadu had felicitated him in September 2025 for his contributions after 50 years in cinema.
Gondhal Adds Oscar Flavor To Ilaiyaraaja Year
This significant year in Ilaiyaraaja’s life further got some international awards flavor following the selection of Marathi thriller “Gondhal” as India’s submission for the Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards in 2027 by the Film Federation of India.
The movie, directed by Santosh Davakhar, was among 33 nominated movies. This is the first time that a movie which has music by Ilaiyaraaja is being submitted to the Oscars.
Dorothy Celebrates 1,540th Film For Ilaiyaraaja
Interestingly, the timing is even more special given the release of Karthik Subbaraj’s film ‘Dorothy’ that will be hitting the silver screen on September 25. The film features Ilaiyaraaja’s music and is his 1,540th film as composer.
‘Muthumani’ from the film, sung by Ilaiyaraaja and Shweta Mohan has already been released.
