S P Balasubrahmanyam
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Contents |
A brief biography
Pushpa Narayan & D Govardan, September 26, 2020: The Times of India
From:
Legendary playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, popularly known as Balu and SPB enthralled millions of people with his youthful voice.
“In a further setback this morning, despite maximum life support measures and the best efforts of the clinical team, his condition deteriorated further, and he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest. With profound grief, we regret to inform that he passed away…” said a release issued by hospital assistant director Anuradha Baskaran. SPB’s son, singer S P Charan, thanked everyone who prayed for his father. “I thank doctors and nurses who took care of him. He is everyone's property. My dad will be alive until you are there,” he said.
SPB had fan following across 16 languages
SPB, who sang more than 40,000 songs in a career spanning nearly 55 years, had been undergoing treatment at MGM Healthcare since August 5 after being admitted with “mild” symptoms. The same day, the singer posted a video on his social media page, saying, “Last two to three days, I have been having a little discomfort. Discomfort means little chest congestion, which for a singer is nonsense… I am perfectly all right except the cold and fever… In two days, I will be discharged, and I will be home. Lot of people have been calling me. I couldn’t attend all the calls. I have come here… so there won’t be any disturbance to me, and to take medication. Don’t bother calling me. I am fine. I will be fine.” Those were the last words his fans heard from him.
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam, who was born in a Telugu Brahmin family in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on June 4, 1946, made his debut as a playback singer in 1966 with the Telugu film “Sri Sri Maryadha Ramanna.”
A versatile singer, languages were no barrier for him. He commanded a fan following across 16 languages, especially in all four southern languages besides Hindi, where he made a name for himself in the 1980s and 1990s — starting with the songs in “Ek Duje Ke Liye”, which also marked the start of his tryst with the National Award for playback singing. His fans had given him the title of Paadum Nila (Singing Moon).
Padma Bhushan SPB left a mark not just in film songs, but also in classical music despite no formal training in that genre. If Telugu film “Sankarabharanam” endeared him to admirers of Carnatic music, playing his “Lingashtakam” and “Bilvashtakam” albums in Telugu for Lord Shiva became a daily ritual in many homes. SPB composed music for around 45 films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi.
As thousands of his fans bid adieu, they are soothed by the lines “Indha thegam maraindhaalum isaiyaai malarven (I will blossom into music even if this body disappears)” from his song “Sangeetha Megham” (from the Tamil movie “Udhaya Geetham”).
In Hindi- Urdu
Avijit Ghosh & Neeraja Ramesh, September 26, 2020: The Times of India
From: Avijit Ghosh & Neeraja Ramesh, September 26, 2020: The Times of India
From: September 26, 2020: The Times of India
A part from being top film stars, what’s common to Kamal Haasan and Salman Khan? The unlikely answer is S P Balasubrahmanyam. The singer with the effortlessly soaring voice first commanded Bollywood attention in Kamal Haasan’s Ek Duuje Ke Liye and later became synonymous with the early Salman Khan (Maine Pyar Kiya, Hum Aapke Hain Koun).
After Yesudas, SP was the second male singer from the South to attain major success in Bombay. He sang one solo and four duets in Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), each a chartbuster. ‘Tere mere beech mein’ (with Lata) finished no. 5 in Binaca Geetmala’s annual countdown show.
Over the next few years, he became a regular, especially in Southern productions. Jeetendra’s Ek Hi Bhool further showcased his range. His gift for infusing pathos (‘Bekhudi ka bada sahara hai’) and his sense of fun (‘Hey Raju, Hey Daddy’) endeared him to music lovers. The singer went through a trough before making a comeback with Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). In fact, his Bombay career can be divided into two phases — pre and post -- ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’.The Salman Khan superhit, with the featherfriendly ‘Kabutar ja ja ja’ track, kickstarted his second innings which turned out to be more bountiful than the first. His voice became identified with Salman Khan’s in the 90s like Kishore Kumar with Rajesh Khanna in the 70s.
In 1991, ‘Dekha hai pehli baar’ (with Alka Yagnik, music: Nadeem-Shravan, film: Saajan) became Binaca Geetmala’s no. 1 song of the year. The astounding success of Hum Aapke Hain Koun (1994) further solidified his status. For almost a decade, SPB recorded regularly in Bombay.
After a hiatus of 15 years, he made a comeback to Hindi cinema in 2013 by singing the Chennai Express title track, ‘Nikal Na Jaaye Chennai Express’.
BESTING BOLLYWOOD
‘Dil Diwana, Bada Mastana’ — Meethi Meethi Baatein (1977 | Much before ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’, SPB had registered his presence in Bombay through dubbed versions of his Tamil songs. This film, dubbed from K Balachander’s ‘Manmatha Leelai’, had him mouthing ‘Dil Diwana’ that would earn him many awards when sung for another film a decade later.
Title Song — ‘Main Inteqaam Loonga’ (1982) | In the song filmed on the hero (Dharmendra) as he prepares to avenge his father’s death, SPB’s voice provides the context through deep-throated riffs, à la R D Burman (listen to his ‘heebaahoo’ at the end of the second antara).
‘Imtihaan, Imtihaan’ — ‘Himmatwala’ (1982) | The most famous of perhaps a dozen films for the Jeetendra-Sridevi-Bappi Lahiri combo in the 1980s, the film’s most famous song was ‘Nainon Mein Sapna’, but SPB got the most important one in the narrative.
‘Mujhe Baahon Mein Bharke’ — ‘Mahadev’ (1989) | Illayaraaja used the ‘Antha Nilavathan’ tune in Hindi, but it was overshadowed by the Tamil version, sung by Raja himself, and much more light-hearted
‘Maine Pyar Kiya’ (1989) and later... | The uniqueness in SPB’s voice, combining Rafi’s depth with the raw, untrained innocence of Kishore, became apparent while emphasising the most important part of the lyrics — like ‘Yehi Sach Hai’ from the title song and the mukhda of ‘Mere Rang Mein’.
‘Sun Beliya’ — ‘100 Days’ (1991) | Film starred Jackie Shroff, with whom SPB had a productive partnership. The song had SPB pairing with Lata Mangeshkar
‘Saathiya Tune Kya Kaha’ — ‘Love’ (1991) | It became the most popular song of this Salman Khan-Revati starrer, but, in a quirky twist, SPB’s voice was used for Amjad Khan’s character
Rafi, the singer SPB idolised
SPB had millions of fans but he followed Mohammed Rafi with devotion, almost to the other side of idolatry, reports Sitapathi Rao. Time after time, he never forgot to mention the influence of Rafi on his singing. During an audition before his mentor S P Kodandapani, SPB loved to recall, he preferred not to sing anything from Telugu, his native tongue, but chose ‘Jaanewalon zara, mudke dekho mujhe’ (Dosti 1964). Kodandapani was impressed, SPB got his chance.
