S.P. Balasubrahmanyam aka SPB or Balu is a predominant play back singer in India, who had been singing since ages majorly in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam films. My heart refuses to refer to him in past tense. His death is one of the many shocking deaths during COVID to me. S.P. Balu's voice has that magic to please you, tease you and lift your spirits in no time, or just make you sad in a matter of seconds. He reigned the Tollywood for many decades and I remember listening to him even before I knew much about movies, music or songs! Not just singing , he also does dubbing, mimicry and has acted in many notable films. I realized he has great acting skills too - He acted as dad, as a supporting actor (guest appearance) and also as a main lead in some of the movies.
Among his many movies, some thing I recently watched after his demise - Mithunam stole my heart. I was in tears by the end of the movie both due to the movie premise and also the empty feeling of losing him. You should watch the movie to understand what I am saying. It is the story of an old couple - S.P. Balu and Lakshmi living in a remote village all alone trying to make the most of the last chapter of their lives, missing kids almost every day and dreading the occurrences of any mishaps! The love and bonding of husband and wife is worth watching. SP Balu's voice gave life to all Kamal Hassan's movies dubbed in Telugu. I still don't know how actual Kamal Hassan sounds. I have always heard him only in SPB's magnetic pitch! There is a movie Dasavatharam in which Kamal plays ten roles. I believe SPB has voiced all the ten voices using his mimicry skills. Watch the video below I stumbled on FB recently... He says how he managed the voices (it is in Telugu)! The video is blocked on blogs - You can watch at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo_OZDVsB1g.
SPB is equally adored even in Bollywood. He gave voice to Salman Khan. Sang almost all his 90's songs and it used to perfectly suit Salman. No Indian can ever forget Maine Pyar Kia, Saajan or Hum aapke hain kaun - the block buster hits of 90s, in which SPB sang many beautiful songs. In some reality singing show a singer subtly mocked his Hindi pronunciation as there is a hint of southern accent while uttering few words. Whatever may be the accent, you cannot deny this multi talented legend. His voice can woo a woman, make a child smile, make you feel immensely lively! He has won many awards, rewards, broke records and wiki says he entered Guinness records for singing over 40,000 songs. I majorly heard him in Telugu and I play his songs in one time or other on every waking day! There are many hindi, telugu, and tamil songs which are my favorites but some song which I can remember at this moment in hindi is :
The combination of him and Ilayaraja or Maniratnam or A.R.Rahman or Yesudas is sure to create magic for the listeners/viewers! It is told that he contracted Covid during a live performance. I really hoped that he should not be effected badly. Heartbreaking is a less intense word to explain what I felt the moment I heard of his demise. My entire child hood, teen and young years are laced and packed in his tone. He has such a soothing pitch. His voice fits all the stars - language no bar. This is a song he sang explaining the corona situation - https://youtu.be/ovXDz9EP84c (a powerful song. You may play it if you understand Telugu!).
I like SPB. Have you heard the song "mannil Indha Kaadhal" in the Tamil movie Keladi Kanmani. It is a world record for his singing non stop without breathing. Please let me know what you think. Thanks.
ReplyDeletePlease see the movie video clip in YouTube. He also acted in that movie.
ReplyDeleteSee the first you tube video I shared here. I Shared the telugu version of it :)
DeleteIndeed a great singer! I did not know about him dubbing all Kamal Hassan's movies in Telugu. Great tribute Afshan! Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteTruly one of the best playback singers! Loved his Tamil songs as well as the songs he sang for Salman Khan, probably one of the only reasons I watched Salman Khan songs when they played on TV! It's a huge loss for the industry. I have not watched the breathless video you had shown. Will do!
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A great tribute to GANA GANDHARVA. I grew listening to his songs right from my childhood. I used to see him in all his songs instead of the actor acting. Such a great impact on me. Even now I can feel his presence while watching his songs. As you said He is alive as long as we are hearing him. A great personality 🙏
ReplyDeleteAh, I love his voice. You have penned a befitting tribute to the legendary singer, Afshan. Apart from that he was also a very humble person, extremely down to earth. Once, many years back, I got into the airport shuttle bus carrying my young son. He immediately got up and offered his seat to me. Such humility!
ReplyDeleteI love his voice and many of his songs, especially in Tamil. I wrote a small tribute to him when he passed away last year. So many people were mourning.
ReplyDeleteS.P.B is a family favorite in our house. So many evergreen songs!
ReplyDeletea nice tribute to SPB :)
ReplyDeleteA great tribute.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog, I've fixed the video now: https://www.dpfinnie.com/2022/04/s-is-for-sparring.html
NIce tribute!
ReplyDeleteNot all in the world are perfectly blessed in "fine arts". That too when it comes to music, they say its a medium to reach the divine. Our country being a repository of different musical flavours artists has no boundary to explore their talent in any direction. SPB was phenomenal driving his career close to 50 solid years. He was a perfect blend in singing be it in bollywood or full-south. He positioned himself with an un-erasable mark as an eminent singer.
ReplyDeleteAfshaan, reminding us SPB today with your writing is awesome. Very beautifully featured and I should heartfully thank you for this lovely writeup.
SPB is my favorite Indian singer. I remember all old songs of Salman Khan had his voice. There is something so beautiful about his voice, isn't it? I can't refer to him in past tense
ReplyDeleteDropping by from momandideas.com
So, many amazing people lost. So sad.
ReplyDeleteSo sad to lose this beautiful talent. Your tribute is so kind.
ReplyDeleteShots and Sirens
I was not familiar with him, but I enjoyed the video you linked to. I'm sorry that he is not longer with us.
ReplyDeleteCovid has truly affected the whole world. No one can deny it (although some do).
ReplyDeleteWhen we lose our favorite stars, there is a hole left behind.
True legend indeed ! He had a great voice, was extremely humble and seemed fun loving. Great person !
ReplyDeleteS.P Sir had the Versatility to sing peppy to Melancholy, romantic to subtle any kind of song 🎵 Afshan a great tribute to him in your write up 💯👍. Totally into his hindi songs I have been . And the one u mentioned is my favorite too 👍👍💯💯👌👌👏
ReplyDeleteCovid has stolen far too many lives. What frustrates me most is that many of those deaths could have been prevented.
ReplyDeleteHe is a legend. As you said he lives on in his songs!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy Indian music, there's just something about it. I should add one of these songs to my play list!
ReplyDeleteA household name SP was, with immense contributions to music!
ReplyDeleteA true legend indeed, his voice will live forever my favourite is “ Kammani ne prema lekhane,….” My heart just goes out when I hear this song
ReplyDeleteA befitting tribute to one of the most legendary singers... My all time favorite songs of SP Balasubramaniam is Sach Mere Yaar Hai. The song has been my favorite since my childhood and even today I turn to it, whenever, I want some good music. Thank you for this heartfelt tribute...
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