Bhavatharini Raja made her debut as a playback singer for My Dear Kuttichathan. From then onwards, she mostly sang on albums composed by her father and brothers.
In 2001, she won the National Award for the song "Mayil Pola Ponnu Onnu" in the movie Bharathi (the music director was her father).2
Bhavatharini turned as a composer for the 2002 film Mitr, My Friend, directed by Revathi, starring Shobhana.3 She then forayed into the Telugu film industry with Avuna (2003).4 She also composed music for Phir Milenge, also directed by Revathi, starring Shilpa Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan.5 In June 2012, she was roped in to score the tunes for Vellachi, a village-based project.6
Bhavatharani studied at Rosary Matric School in Chennai. This was followed by higher secondary school in Adarsh Vidyalaya, Peters Road, Chennai. Bhavatharini was married to an advertising executive, R. Sabariraj, son of S.N. Ramachandran.7 Ramachandran is a former journalist who went into publishing and started Kannan Advertising.8 The couple did not have children.
Bhavatharini died from cancer on 25 January 2024, at the age of 47, while being treated for the disease in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 9101112 Her body was taken to her father's home in Chennai, and later to her ancestral village, where she was cremated.
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Kumar, S. R. Ashok (18 December 2012). "Rural rhapsody". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020. https://archive.today/20200217035239/https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/music/rural-rhapsody/article4213495.ece ↩
"இளையராஜாவின் மகள் பவதாரிணி காலமானார்". Daily Thanthi. 25 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024. https://www.dailythanthi.com/breaking-news/ilayarajas-daughter-bhavadharani-passed-away-1091392?infinitescroll=1 ↩
"Ilaiyaraaja's daughter and playback singer Bhavatharini dies of cancer". India Today. 25 January 2024. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024. https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/ilaiyaraajas-daughter-and-playback-singer-bhavatharini-dies-of-cancer-2493685-2024-01-25 ↩
"Bhavatharini, daughter of musician Ilayaraja, no more". The hindu. Archived from the original on 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/bhavatharini-daughter-of-musician-ilayaraja-no-more/article67777672.ece ↩
"இளையராஜாவின் மகள் பவதாரணி காலமானார்". BBC News தமிழ் (in Tamil). 25 January 2024. Archived from the original on 26 January 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024. https://www.bbc.com/tamil/articles/c3g3e0yxly2o ↩
"தனுஷ் (Dhaanush) by இளையராஜா [Ilaiyaraaja]". Rate Your Music. Retrieved 26 April 2024. https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/%E0%AE%87%E0%AE%B3%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%AF%E0%AE%B0%E0%AE%BE%E0%AE%9C%E0%AE%BE/%E0%AE%A4%E0%AE%A9%E0%AF%81%E0%AE%B7%E0%AF%8D-dhaanush/ ↩
"'GOAT' 2nd single promo: Vijay's track features late Bhavatharini's AI-generated voice". India Today. 21 June 2024. Archived from the original on 22 June 2024. Retrieved 22 June 2024. https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/regional-cinema/story/goat-second-song-chinna-chinna-kangal-thalapathy-vijay-late-bhavatharini-ai-generated-voice-2556405-2024-06-21 ↩
Kadhalika Poiya Solla - Video Song | Dinasari | Ilaiyaraja | Srikanth | Cynthia Lourde (in Tamil). Divo Music. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 31 January 2025 – via Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DooIt_fKGGU ↩
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"பவதாரணியின் கடைசிப் பாடல் வெளியானது!". Dinamani (in Tamil). 31 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024. https://www.dinamani.com/cinema/cinema-news/2024/Oct/31/bhavatharini-last-song ↩