Musician and singer Bhavatharani, who is music composer Ilayaraaja’s daughter, passed away on Thursday, January 25. The 47-year-old was reportedly battling liver cancer, and was at an Ayurvedic center in Sri Lanka. She is survived by her husband R Sabariraj.
Bhavatharani has sung many Tamil songs mostly composed by her father and brothers Karthik Raja and Yuvan Shankar Raja. She has also sung for music directors Deva and Sirpy.
In 2001, she also won the National award for the song ‘Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu’ from the movie Bharathi. The music for the film was composed by Ilayaraaja.
According to reports, Bhavatharani died at around 5 pm. Her body is expected to be brought to India on January 26.
She made her singing debut with Prabhu Deva’s film Raasaiya (1995). The late singer also turned into a music director for the film Mitr, My Friend (2002) which was directed by actor Revathy. She also composed music for films like Phir Milenge among others.