Karthik Raja facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Karthik Raja
Background information
Born	(1973-06-29) 29 June 1973 (age 51)
Origin	Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation(s)	Composer Playback singer
Years active	1992–present

Karthik Raja (born June 29, 1973) is a talented Indian music composer and singer. He lives in Chennai, a big city in India. He started his career in 1992 by composing music for the Tamil film Pandiyan. Since then, he has created music for many popular and well-loved movies.

About Karthik Raja's Life

Karthik Raja grew up in a family full of musicians. His father is the famous music composer Illayaraja. His brother, Yuvan Shankar Raja, and his sister, Bhavatharini, are also music directors and singers. They have all worked together on different projects.

Karthik Raja went to school in Chennai. He studied at St. Bede's School and Boston Matriculation higher secondary school. On June 8, 2000, he married Raja Rajeshwari in Tirupati, India.

Karthik Raja's Musical Journey

Karthik Raja was surrounded by music from a very young age. He learned Western classical music, especially piano, at the Trinity School of Music. He also studied Carnatic music, which is a classical music style from India. His teachers included T. V. Gopalakrishnan and V. Dakshinamoorthy.

Early Steps in Music

When Karthik Raja was a child, he often went with his father to recording studios. At just 13 years old, he played the keyboard for a song called Kannukkum. This song was from the Tamil movie Ninaikka Therinda Maname (1987). He also played keyboard for the music of the famous movie Nayakan.

Karthik helped his father arrange many recordings. He composed his first song, "Pandianin Rajiyathil," for the movie Pandiyan (1992). He also composed "Ninaikindra" for the movie Athma (1993). Around this time, he even created background music for a TV series called Bible.

Becoming a Film Composer

In 1996, Karthik Raja officially started his career as a full-time film composer. His first movies were Alexander and Manikkam. After that, he created many hit songs for films like Ullaasam, Naam Iruvar Nammaku Iruvar, Kadhala Kadhala, and Dumm Dumm Dumm.

He also started composing music for Hindi films. His first Hindi movie was Grahan. For this film, he won the R.D. Burman award. This award is given to the best new music talent.

Television Appearances

Karthik Raja has also appeared on television.

Selected Music Works

Karthik Raja has composed music for many films and sung many songs. Here are a few examples of his work.

Film Scores and Soundtracks

He creates all the music for movies, including songs and background scores.

As a Playback Singer

Karthik Raja also sings songs for movies, often for other composers or his own music.

Music Albums

He has also released music albums that are not part of movies.

Awards and Recognition

Karthik Raja has won several awards for his musical talent:

• 1998: Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent – for the film Grahan
• 2001: Cinema Express Award for Best Music Director – for the film Dumm Dumm Dumm

See also

In Spanish: Karthik Raja para niños