SP Balasubrahmanyam, a legendary playback singer, music director, actor, dubbing artist, and film producer, is no more. The 74-year-old maestro breathed his last at a corporate hospital in Chennai at 1.04 pm on Friday.
SPB, as he was known among friends and fans, was admitted to the city’s MGM Hospital on August 5 when he was diagnosed with Covid-19. He was later put on ventilator and ECMO. After days, SPB’s condition became stable and he was looking forward to getting discharged from the hospital to watch the IPL matches.
But by Thursday evening his condition deteriorated and after a 12-hour fight with the pandemic, the singer, who rendered more than 40,000 songs in 16 languages, succumbed to the condition.
Balasubrahmanyam is survived by his wife, son, and daughter. “Humility personified” that was how the film world and music lovers described SPB who was a recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards.
It was the songs he rendered for Sankarabharanam which made him a household name in the country. In a career spanning five decades, SPB was honoured with six national awards for some of the best songs in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Tamil. SPB’s song Tere Mere Beech Mein in Ek Duuje Ke Liye remained a chartbuster for years. In addition to being a singer ‘Baalu’, was also a music director, actor and a dubbing artist.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the demise of the singer. “With the unfortunate demise of Shri SP Balasubrahmanyam our cultural world is a lot poorer. A household name across India, his melodious voice and music enthralled audiences for decades. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti”, the Prime Minister said in his message.
Kolahala Srenivaas, author and journalist, remembered how M G Ramachandran who wanted SPB to sing for him in the movie Adimai Pen pushed the recording for 15 days as the singer was down with typhoid on the day the song was to be recorded.
“It was SPB’s first song in Tamil. When others suggested to MGR to change the singer, the then superstar was unwillingly citing that he was an aspiring youngster who would have informed his family and friends about the opportunity and would feel humiliated if his name doesn’t feature in the credits. He went on to recover and sang Aayiram Nilave Vaa, his very first song in Tamil, which become a massive hit,” reminisced Srenivaas.
What stands out in the story of SPB is that he was from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh who spoke Telugu, but he made it big in Tamil too.
R Rangaraj, MD, Music Durbar, and president, Chennai 2000 Plus Trust, remembers SP Balasubramaniam as unique in many respects.
Rangraj told The Pioneer that initially M S Viswanathan asked him to improve his pronunciation in Tamil, which he did. After two years, MSV gave him his first song in Santhi Nilaiyam called Iyarkkai Enum.
But it was MGR who gave him the first break in Adimai Pen , Aayiram Nilave Vaa, composed by KV Mahadevan. He went on to sing over 40,000 songs in 16 languages, with his combination with maestro Ilayaraja taking Tamil, Telugu and Kannada film music to great heights.
Though initially, he had not formally learned Carnatic music, he did undergo intensive Carnatic lessons under Pugazhendhi, a Malayalee, assistant of KV Mahadevan. Though he hailed from AP, he made Chennai his home. He bought a house and built a studio in Chennai and brought up his family in Chennai.
“Popular in the south India as well as in the north and west, SPB was quick to grasp tunes, sing without wavering from shruthi, and could sing all types of songs, whether western, classical, or folk. His affable temperament ensured that all music directors and co-singers liked him. His songs will live on” says Rangraj.
Very few people know that SPB was keen chess lover and was first to sponsor former world chess champion V Anand. “Really sad to hear about the passing away of such a great yet simple person. He was my first sponsor! He sponsored our team Chennai Colts (then Madras Colts) in the national team championship in 1983. One of the nicest persons I have met. His music gave us such joy #RIPSPB,” Anand said in a tweet expressing grief on the demise of the famed singer.