Legendary singer S P Balasubrahmanyam dies at 74

Famous singer S P Balasubrahmanyam died in a hospital in Chennai after almost two months of treatment. He was 74 years old. Tributes to him poured in on social media soon after Mr Balasubrahmanyam’s son, S P Charan, announced his death. Politicians such as H D Deve Gowda, Shiva Kumar and Khushbu Sundar shared posts, as did Hema Malini. Soundarya Rajinikanth, daughter of Mr. Balasubrahmanyam’s longtime collaborator Rajinikanth, was among the first to share a tribute by writing “RIP SPB sir”. “Devastated,” wrote A R Rahman, for whom S P Balasubrahmanyam had sung several songs. The singer had been in the hospital since August 5.

SPB, as the beloved singer was popularly known, had been hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. He tested negative over a month later, but could not be removed from the ventilator. The hospital – MGM Healthcare – on Thursday said in a medical bulletin that Mr Balasubrahmanyam’s condition had worsened in the past 24 hours and that he was on maximum life support.

Son of S P Balasubrahmanyam S P Charan shared updates on his father’s health on social media and was upbeat in recent weeks. A day ago, he wrote on Instagram that S P Balasubrahmanyam was making “steady progress” and was undergoing physiotherapy. SPB was “anxious to leave the hospital as soon as possible,” wrote P Charan. Read his article here:

A few weeks ago, SP Charan announced in a video posted on Instagram: “We expected daddy’s lungs to improve as they were but unfortunately we are still not at this point where we could. get rid of the fan. But the good news is that dad is COVID negative“SPB watched cricket on the iPad as well as writing and communicating,” his son said.

S P Balasubrahmanyam was taken to hospital on August 5 and shared a video saying he was “perfectly fine” and expected to be released in two days. On August 14, the hospital said in a medical bulletin that Mr. Balasubrahmanyam’s condition had deteriorated and that he had been put on life support. The MGM Healthcare statement read: “In a late night development on August 13, 2020, his condition had deteriorated and based on the advice of the expert medical team treating him, he was transferred to the unit. of intensive care and he is lifelong supportive and his condition remains critical. “Just a day before, the hospital had said that SP Balasubrahmanyam had been admitted for” mild symptoms of COVID continue to be stable and maintain normal saturation in oxygen”.

In his video shared from his first hospitalization S P Balasubrahmanyam said: “For two or three days I had a little discomfort. Discomfort means a little chest congestion, which for a singer is absurd. Was cold and fever. These three things, if not no problem. But I didn’t do ‘I don’t want to take it easy so I went to the hospital and checked. They said it was just a mild, very mild case of corona,’ he said, adding that he could have isolated himself at home, but that he chose to be hospitalized. would be easier for his family. “No one has to worry about that- this. So please don’t bother calling me to find out how I’m doing. I am perfectly fine except for the cold and the fever. The fever has also decreased. “

S P Balasubrahmanyam, winner of six national awards, leaves behind a vast body of work spanning 40,000 songs in 16 languages. He worked a lot for Ilaiyaraaja, A R Rahman and other composers. In the Hindi film industry, he sang for Salman Khan in several films. He was also an actor, producer and voice actor. SPB received the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.