In Remembrance: Legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam

Legendary singer S.P. Balasubrahmanyam breathed his last on September 25, 2020, after battling with the deadly coronavirus. He was admitted to hospital with a critical condition on life support in the ICU. His unfortunate death has left the industry grieving over the passing away of yet another gem in the music world. From lending his voice for romantic numbers to dubbing for superstars to acting on silver screen, Balasubrahmanyam was a master of all.

Hyderabad: Never has there been a phase in the recent memory when in a span of few months India has witnessed successive deaths of music marvels and cinematic icons. Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam sadly joined the list leaving the entire length and breadth of the nation in a fit of shock.

Balasubrahmanyam was admitted to hospital after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, but later he developed other complications and within a matter of a few days he succumbed on September 25, 2020.

Born in 1946, Balasubrahmanyam had predominantly worked in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam industry. The titan crooned over 40,000 songs in 16 Indian languages which fetched him the Guinness World Records for having the highest number of songs.

In a career spanning over 51 years, Balasubrahmanyam won six National Film Awards in four different languages including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi. He had also bagged 25 Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards, for his works towards Telugu cinema, besides numerous other state awards from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In addition, the singer also garnered the Bollywood Filmfare Award and six Filmfare Awards South. Needless to say, he held the distinction of winning an array of honours and civilian awards.

A recipient of Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2011), Balasubrahmanyam was honoured with the Silver Peacock Medal and the title of Indian Film Personality of the Year in 2016. He was also feted with the NTR National Award in 2012 for his contributions to Indian cinema.

Balasubrahmanyam, who is fondly known as Balu, developed an interest towards music at an early age. However, with the intention of becoming an engineer, he got himself enrolled at JNTU College of Engineering Anantapur. During his engineering days, Balu continued to pursue music and won multiple awards at singing competitions.

It was music composer S.P. Kodandapani who spotted Balu during a talent hunt and saw the spark in the young contestant. Balasubrahmanyam's career took off in 1966, with Kodandapani offering a chance, to the then fresh talent to sing for the film Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna.

Within a short span, Balasubrahmanyam became the most sought after voice across the music world. He came to international prominence with the 1980 film Sankarabharanam. He sang for most superstars of the yesteryears including Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, more popularly known as NTR. His mellifluous renderings in the run-a-away super-hit Ek Duje Ke Liye continue to remain fresh in the ears.

In 1989, Balu's rich baritone found a mass appeal among the audience after he lent his voice for Salman Khan starrer Maine Pyar Kiya.

Balasubrahmanyam's duet with Lata Mangeshkar in Didi Tera Devar Deewana cemented his spot as one of the biggest playback singers in India.

After being away from Bollywood for over a decade-and-a-half, Balasubrahmanyam made his comeback to the industry with Shah Rukh Khan's Chennai Express. Under the direction of Vishal-Shekhar, he recorded the title song of Chennai Express. No doubt, the audience felt an instant connect to the voice.

Alongside singing, Balasubrahmanyam also dubbed for a range of megastars including Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Vishnuvardhan, Salman Khan, K. Bhagyaraj, Anil Kapoor, Girish Karnad, Gemini Ganesan, Arjun Sarja, Nagesh, Karthik and Raghuvaran.

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam was a master of creativity. Besides achieving tentpole laurels in the music world, Balasubrahmanyam also earned his name on celluloid for his outing in several Telugu, Tamil and Kannada movies.

Be it for his magnitude of composition or for his awestruck screen presence, Balasubrahmanyam will always stay alive in our hearts. He is survived by wife Savitri, daughter Pallavi and son S. P. B. Charan, also a playback singer and film producer.