S P Balasubrahmanyam: A file photo of SPB from Instagram (courtesy ispbofficial)
Highlights
- S P Balasubrahmanyam died in Chennai on September 25
- He was the voice of Salman Khan for several hit songs
- "Condolence to the family," tweeted Salman Khan
Music legend S P Balasubrahmanyam died on Friday at a Chennai hospital. He was 74. Tributes poured in on social media for SPB, as he was popularly known as, with an emotional tweet from Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. S P Balasubrahmanyam was the voice behind several hit Salman Khan soundtracks, the first of which was 1989 movie Maine Pyar Kiya. Remembering Mr Balasubrahmanyam and his unforgettable legacy, Salman Khan tweeted: "Heartbroken to hear about S P Balasubrahmanyam sir... you will forever live on in your undisputed legacy of music! Condolence to the family #RIP." S P Balasubrahmanyam is survived by his wife Savitri, daughter Pallavi, and son S P Charan, who is a producer and a singer.
S P Balasubrahmanyam was admitted to Chennai hospital MGM Healthcare on August 5 for coronavirus. After several weeks, he tested negative but continued to remain on the ventilator. On Thursday, the hospital's medical bulletin revealed that he was on maximum life support, soon after which, Salman Khan wished him speedy recovery in a tweet. "Balasubrahmanyam sir, all the strength hope wishes from the bottom of my heart to a speedy recovery. And thank you for every song you sang for me and made special," wrote Salman and signed off the tweet as Prem - his character from Maine Pyar Kiya - "Your Dil Dewana hero Prem. Love you, sir."
Nineties kids will remember how S P Balasubrahmanyam's melodic voice made the songs of Maine Pyar Kiya classic - Aate Jaate Hanste Gaate, Aaja Sham Honey Aaee, Dil Deewana, Mere Rang Mein, Aaya Mausam Dosti Ka and the memorable Antakshari sequence. SPB was the voice of many songs featuring Salman Khan in movies such as Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Andaz Apna Apna, Patthar Ke Phool and Chandra Mukhi. For Mr Subrahmanyam's frequent collaborations with the actor, SPB came to be known as the 'voice of Salman' in Bollywood just as he was identified with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan in the South film industry.
Apart from Salman Khan's tribute, S P Balasubrahmanyam has also been remembered fondly by Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Lata Mangeshkar, Anil Kapoor, Hema Malini and others.