LATE LEGENDARY S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
“Jiye to jiye kaise bin aapke “ is A line from one of S.P. B’s songs of a Bollywood movie Saajan . It means How should I live without you? This line can be felt by our hearts on remembering S.P.B.
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam also referred to as S. P. Balasubrahmanyam or S. P. B. or Balu died on 25th September 2020 at MGM Health-care in Chennai. He contributed to the film industry as a musician, playback singer, dubbing artist, music director, actor , film producer.
S.P.B. Early Life:
He was born on 4th June in 1946 into an Orthodox Telugu Brahmin family. He was born in Konetammapeta near Nellore Andhra Pradesh. and was the second son in his family. At the age of 20, he made his first debut as a playback singer on 15th December 1966 with Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna, a Telugu film. His father’s name was S. P. Sambamurthy who was a Harikatha artist.
He took admission to JNTU College of Engineering Anantapur to become an engineer. But the destination has something else for him. He suffered from typhoid due to which he had to discontinue his studies.
He had developed an interest in music at an early age. A music competition was organized in the year 1964 by Telugu Cultural Organization in which he won the First Prize. This competition acts as a booster in his music career that had changed his life.
He sang in 16 different languages in his lifetime. But he prominently worked in Telugu, Tamil , Kannada , Hindi and Malayalam films.
He was married to Savitri at Lord Sri Varaha Lakshmi Nrusimha Swamy temple in Simhachalam (Visakhapatnam). Later on was blessed with two children. One of his children named Sripathi Panditharadhyula Charan (S.P.C) has become a playback singer, actor,and producer known for his work mainly in Telugu and Tamil films.
S.P.B. ACHIEVEMENTS :
- Guinness World Record: He has sung over 40,000 songs in his lifetime for which he holds a Guinness world record. Moreover, he was not bound by a single language. Instead, he sang in 16 different languages.
- National Film Award: He won 6 National Film Awards in his lifetime. They have been listed below:
- 1979 : For the musical video named Sankarabharanam he won his first National award
- 1981 : For the film Ek Dujje Ke liye
- 1984 : For the film Sagara Sangamam
- 1989 : For the film Rudra Veena
- 1996 : For the film Sangeetha Sagara Ganayogi Panchakshara
- 1997 : For the film Minsaara Kanavu
- Film Fare Award: He won 3 Filmfare Awards which includes both North and South Awards. They have been listed below:
- 1990 : For the song Dil Dewana Bin Saajne Ke
- 2008 : For the song Kannal Pesum Penne
- 2007 : For the film Sri Ramadasu
- Civilian Honour Awards :
- 2001: He was honored with PADMA SHRI
- 2011: He was honored with PADMA BHUSHAN
- Nandi Awards: He has won 25 Nandi awards in his life
- Other Awards :
- 1990: He won Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
- 2016: He won Centenary Award for Indian Film Personality of the Year
DEATH OF S.P.B. :
On 25th September 2020, we lost a great person in our lives. He died at MGM Healthcare in Chennai at 1:04 pm (IST). On 5th August he was tested positive for COVID-19, but on 7th August 2020, he was tested negative.
He died due to cardio-respiratory arrest as he was on maximal life support.
Though we have lost him but his songs are always with us to make us feel better.
Also read: Cinematic Tourism- The journey is the destination!