Singer and musician Bhavatharini, daughter of legendary music composer Ilaiyaraaja, passed away on Thursday, January 25. As per reports she was battling cancer. The National award-winning singer who was in her late 40s, breathed her last in Sri Lanka where she was reportedly undergoing treatment. Bhavatharini's mortal remains were brought to her residence in Gudalur, Theni, Tamil Nadu.
In a video that has gone viral, Ilaiyaraaja was seen paying his last respects to his daughter before the funeral. He was seen performing rituals in front of her mortal remains adorned in flowers.
On Saturday, news agency ANI shared the video on its X (formerly Twitter) handle where Ilaiyaraaja was performing a ritual and paying his last respects to his daughter.
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Several celebs and dignitaries condoled the death of Ilaiyaraaja's daughter. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, and Puducherry Lt Governor among others condoled her demise. Kamal Haasan also mourned the death of Bhavatharini.
Former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam told ANI, "The death of playback singer and music director Ilaiyaraaja's daughter Bhavatharini is a big loss not only for the music industry, but also for the people of Tamil Nadu. It is a big loss for the Theni district also. May her soul rest in peace."
On Friday, Ilaiyaraaja shared a picture on X with his late daughter in her remembrance. It was an old black-and-white picture of him showing something to little Bhavatharini in a picture book. He captioned the post in Tamil, “Dear daughter.”
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For the unversed, Bhavatharini was honoured with the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her song 'Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu' from the film 'Bharathi', which was composed by her father.
She is survived by her husband, father Ilaiyaraaja and brothers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja.
