Legendary singer SP Balasubhramanyam passed away earlier today (September 25). As the nation joins to pay tribute, we look at some of the lesser-known facts about him
Bengaluru: Legendary singer SP Balasubhramanyam passed away earlier today (September 25). As the nation joins to pay tribute, we look at some of the lesser-known facts about him.
• SP Balasubhramanyam enrolled at JNTU College of Engineering but later discontinued his studies and joined as an associate member of the Institution of Engineers in Chennai.
• SP Balasubhramanyam made his debut as a playback singer in 1966 with Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna. It was a Telugu film by his mentor SP Kodandapani.
• ‘Eyarkai Ennum Illaya Kanni’ was his first ever song recorded in 1969 film Shanthi Nilaiyam starring Gemini Ganesan. Then he sang for MGR in the film Aadimai Penn.
• A rough time hit his life when he was selected to sing for 'Aayiram Nilavae Vaa’ starring MGR and Jayalalitha, he suffered from typhoid just before recording and he couldn’t lend his voice leaving him disappointed.
• But MGR wanted SPB’s voice and was adamant in providing him the opportunity. The shoot was delayed until SPB recovered completely and the song was recorded and was shot at a famous palace in Jaipur.
• SPB was the leader of a light music troupe which also had Ilaiyaraaja, Bhaskar and Gangai Amaran. His association with Ilaiyaraaja started even before the two made their respective movie debuts.
• He had a rare distinction of rendering most number of songs in single day by any singer. He had recorded 21 songs in Kannada for the composer Upendra Kumar in Bangalore from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm on February 8, 1981.
• He has also recorded 19 songs in Tamil and 16 songs in Hindi all in one day, a record in itself.
• He was probably the only Indian singer to act in these many movies. He also faced rejection once by a Hindi music composer, stating the South Indians cannot pronounce Hindi properly. But he went on to win a National Film Award for Best Playback Singer for his first Hindi film, Ek Duje Ke Liye.
• His iconic collaboration with Lata Mangeshkar for the song ‘Didi Tera Devar Deewana’ is remembered and cherished even today.
• He had also worked as a music director in 46 films in four different languages. He was also a professional dubbing artist and also a film producer. He had lent his voice for many popular celebrities such as Rajnikanth, Gemini Ganesan, Arjun Sarja, Kamal Hassan to name a few.
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