S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
S. B. Balasubramaniam (January 4, 1946 – 25 September, 2020) was an Indian film playback singer, composer, actor and producer. He is widely known as SPB. He has worked extensively in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam films. He has sung in films since 1966 and has sung over 40,000 songs in 16 Indian languages.
He also won six National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi; He has received 25 Nandi Awards from Andhra Pradesh and several Government Awards from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. He has also won the Filmfare Award and six South Indian Filmfare Awards. He has been inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records for singing the most songs in the world. In 2012, he was awarded the NDR National Award for his contribution to the Indian film industry. In 2016, he was awarded the Silver Peacock Award for Indian Film Personality. The Government of India also honored him with the Padma Shri (2001) and Padma Bhushan (2011) awards. In January 2021, it was announced that he would be awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award in India.
Balasubramaniam passed away on September 25, 2020 due to Covid-19 infection.
Early life
Balasubramaniam, belonging to a Telugu family, S. B. Sambamurthy was born in the state of Chennai district, Nellore district, Konadampettai (in present day Andhra Pradesh), the son of Shakuntalamma couple. His father, Sambamurthy, was an Arikatai Kalatsepak artist. He is survived by two brothers and five sisters. Among them is singer S. B. Sailaja is the younger sister. Son, S. B. B. Charan is a popular singer, actor and producer.
Balasubramaniam developed an interest in music at an early age and took care of his father while he was playing the harp, mastering the harmonium and flute. He joined JNTU College of Engineering, Anantapur with the intention of becoming an engineer. Balasubramaniam, who was suffering from typhoid fever, dropped out of school and joined the College of Engineering in Chennai.
Balasubramaniam, who has a passion for music, participated in many song competitions while in college and won prizes. In 1964, he won the first prize for singing at a concert organized by the Chennai-based Telugu Cultural Institute. Initially, the melody was performed by a group. Anirudha (harmonium), Ilayaraja (guitar, harmonium), Bhaskar, Gangai Amaran (guitar) participated in this group. He used to accompany them to SBP concerts and sing regularly at theater concerts. SB Kothandapani and Kandasala were selected as the best singers in the song competition which was moderated. His first competition song was ‘Nilave Ennidam Nerunkathe’ sung by BP Srinivas, who often met composers and asked for a chance to sing. BP Srinivas has written songs for him in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit, English and Urdu.
Achievements
He holds the Guinness Book of World Records for singing over 40,000 songs. He has won the National Award for Best Playback Singer six times. S. B. B. Although he did not study Carnatic music properly, he won a National Award for his song on Carnatic music in the film Sankaraparanam. He is the only film playback singer to have won a National Award in four languages so far. He has won the Filmfare Award once and the Filmfare Award (South) three times. He has also received several state awards from the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the Nandi Award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh 25 times. He is the recipient of the Kalaimamani Award of the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1981. SBP has made achievements in Indian cinema that no other singer has done. He sang 21 songs for Kannada language composer Upendra Kumar on the same day from 9 am to 9 pm on February 8, 1981 in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has also sung 19 songs in Tamil (in one day) and 16 songs in Hindi (in 6 hours). All these are his notable achievements.
He created a prosperous life in Indian cinema through hard work. He was a musician in the 1970s. S. Viswanathan has sung Tamil and Malayalam translations along with music. Tamil film actors M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Jaisankar, many actors in the 1970s sang backing vocals. He was a popular playback singer at the time. Susila, S. Janaki, Vani Jayaram and L. R. Eswari has sung many duets with them. IIlayaraja, SBP and S Janaki formed a successful alliance in South Indian cinema in the late 1970s.
Family life
Balasubramaniam fell in love and got married. His wife’s name is Savitri, daughter Pallavi, son S. B. B. சரண். Charan has been growing as a playback singer, actor, iconic series actor and producer.
Death
He was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on August 5, 2020, after being diagnosed with Covid-19 infection. His health deteriorated over a few days, then returned to normal and he was able to eat by mouth. But on September 24, 2020, his condition worsened again and he was treated by doctors. But the treatment did not work, and on September 25, 2020, he died at 1:04 p.m.
Source: Wikipedia
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