Krishnaraj

Krishnaraj was born in the Vembadithalam area of Salem district, Tamil Nadu, into a family with a background in handloom weaving. He worked as a weaver in his early years but never gave up his love of music, singing with music troupes and in stage dramas.

He later moved to Chennai, where he trained in music and worked as an assistant to the music director Ramanujam. Opportunities to sing advertising jingles let him start recording his voice professionally, and that work led on to film playback singing.

Krishnaraj made his playback debut in Adhikaalai Subavelai, a Deva film, and became one of the composer's most trusted voices of the 1990s, singing at least one song in most of Deva's films. His early hit "Vellarikka Pinju Vellarikka" from Kadhal Kottai (1996) made his name with audiences, and he followed it with songs such as "Tirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa", "Kaathu Adikkuthu", "Sirichuttu Ponalum" and "Vithavithama Soppu Seeppu Kannadi". He also sang duets, including "Paattukku Paalaivanam Poo Pookkum" with Hariharan in Ananda Poongatre and a song with K. S. Chithra in Vaimaye Vellum.

His signature song, "Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu" from Porkkaalam (1997), won him the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. He also received the Tamil Nadu government's Kalaimamani honour.

In the 2000s and after he sang "Ayyayo" in Paruthiveeran, "Aambalaikkum Pombalaikkum" in Kazhugu and a song in Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikecei, and one of his last film songs was "Naalu Nimisham" in Soorarai Pottru (2020). Across his career he worked with composers including Deva, A. R. Rahman and G. V. Prakash Kumar, and he recorded devotional music as well as film songs. Reports credit him with more than 300 film songs and, by some counts, over 3,000 songs in all.

Krishnaraj kept strong ties to his home town of Salem throughout his life, and his family arranged for his funeral to be held there. He lived in Valasaravakkam, Chennai, during his later years. Details of his family life were not widely reported.

Krishnaraj died on the morning of 22 October 2026 at his home in Valasaravakkam, Chennai, after suffering from ill health. He was 75. His body was kept at the house for public homage, and the funeral was scheduled for 23 October 2026 in Salem, his home town.

His death followed by only a few days that of the composer Deva, who died on 17 October 2026 and with whom he had recorded many of his best known songs. His death was reported by Dinakaran, Indian Express Tamil, BBC News Tamil and Live Chennai.

Krishnaraj's voice belongs to the sound of 1990s Tamil cinema. Many listeners knew his songs by their opening lines without knowing who had sung them, and news of his death led fans to rediscover his work. "Thanjavooru Mannu Eduthu" in particular outlived its film, becoming a song of homeland and belonging that was played at the funeral of former Singapore President S. R. Nathan in 2016.