He is usually referred to by the title Isaignani (), or as "The Maestro". Ilaiyaraja is a gold medalist in classical guitar from Trinity College of Music, London. In 2003, according to an international poll conducted by BBC, more than half-a million people from 165 countries voted his composition "Rakkamma Kaiya Thattu" from the 1991 film "Thalapathi" as fourth in the world's top 10 most popular songs of all time.