After facing many controversies, Ilaiyaraaja 75 happened in Chennai on February 2 and 3 at YMCA, Nandanam. The event was hosted by actors Suhasini Mani Ratnam and Kasthuri. While it was attended by leading stars of Tamil cinema including actors Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, and composer AR Rahman, there were many celebrities from Kollywood who did not turn up.
According to a report, actors Vijay, Ajith Kumar, Suriya, Dhanush, Jiiva, SJ Suriyah, Arun Vijay, Atharvaa, Sathish, Santhanam, Suriya, Sasikumar, Samuthirakani, Soori, Yogi Babu, Prakash Raj, Samantha Akkineni, Trisha, Hansika Motwani, Kajal Agarwal, Anjali, Amala Paul, directors like Ram, Ranjith, Pandiaraj, Atlee, Vignesh Shivan, composers like Anirudh, Thaman, Sam CS did not attend.
It should also be mentioned that singers Susheela, Saindhavi, Janaki, SP Balasubramaniam, Yesudas, Hariharan, Shankar Mahadevan, veteran producers AVM, Kalaipuli S Thanu etc., were not part of the event.
Following clashes between a few producers of the Tamil Film Producers’ Council and its president Vishal Krishna, a few producers boycotted the event. Some veteran artistes also had complaints that they were not invited properly, and Vishal had his own priorities. In the industry, there were talks expressing dissatisfaction with people who did not participate in the music legend’s tribute function.
The report also mentioned that the event was not organized properly, as people who bought Rs 5000 tickets were made to sit on plastic chairs. Also, the event did not begin on time, and people faced discomfort as it prolonged till late in the night. It was also said that actors Ramana and Nandha were given priorities, and were treated partially.
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The event was opposed by a group of producers in the TFPC who alleged that Vishal Krishna had spent money from the council’s fixed deposit amount for the event. Earlier, producer JSK Sathish filed a petition in the Madras High Court seeking a stay on the event, claiming that Vishal was not transparent in providing the event’s account details.
However, the High Court heard the petition on January 31st and refused to call for a stay as there was no proof of conspiracy related to funds. The organisers were asked to go ahead with the event, and submit account details after the event was over.