That would have been a big setback for my Tamil movie career, which he (MGR) didn’t want," SPB recalled the incident, showering praise on the magnanimity of the late actor. If I was replaced, word would spread, that MGR didn’t like my voice and so he chose some other singer. He said, after the audition, I would have told my friends about singing for MGR. "When I was at his residence, I was curious and asked MGR about why he waited and delayed the shooting. It is said that, since SPB was down with a fever, MGR, who ruled the Tamil film industry could have always gotten another singer to croon the lines, however, MGR had waited for the young man. SPB also sang for actor Gemini Ganesan (Iyarkai Ennum Ilaya Kanni), for MG Ramachandran (Aayiram Nilavae Vaa) and also took the Malayalam film industry by storm.SPB recalled that veteran actor and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MGR had postponed his film 'Aayiram Nilavae Vaa' for his sake, as he was unwell and couldn’t sing within the allotted schedule. SPB’s song Shankara naadhashareera Para', is regarded as the most memorable from that film. Viswanath and the music scored by K.V.Mahadevan turned out to be a big hit. Telugu movie Sankarabharanam was his first big break that won him a National award for Best Male Playback singer. Viswanathan, for the film Hotel Ramba, however, the film never got released.
It is said that SPB’s first Tamil song was "Athaanodu Ippadi Irundhu Eththanai Naalaachu", a duet with L.R. Later, he started visiting music directors seeking opportunities to become a movie playback singer. Janaki encouraged him to sing for movies by saying that he can shine in the world of cinema. He had once said that, at one such competition, during the valedictory ceremony, veteran playback singer S. While pursuing his engineering degree, he used to participate in singing competitions and won various prizes. Sailaja was also a movie playback singer. Sambamurthy, a Harikatha artist and Sakunthalamma on 4th June 1946, in Andhra Pradesh, young SPB got interested in music early on but did not have formal training in music. However, on Thursday evening the hospital had stated that his condition had become extremely critical and that he was on maximal life support.īorn to S.P. Recent bulletins from the hospital had also said that the singer was in a stable condition, was conscious, and undergoing physiotherapy while under ECMO and ventilator support. The 74-year old singer, fondly known as SPB, had released a video on Facebook, on August 5th, saying he was hospitalized after observing COVID-19 symptoms. The initial announcement of his passing was made to the media, by his son SP Charan, at the gates of the hospital, following which the hospital released a bulletin stating that he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest. SP Balasubrahmanyam who regarded the voice of generations of India’s leading cinema heroes had died in September 2020 after battling severe COVID-19 pneumonia and complications for over 50 days. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday announced the Padma Awards 2021 - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, on the eve of 72nd Republic Day. Veteran playback Singer and multiple-national award winner SP Balasubrahmanyam, who breathed his last on September 25, 2020, at 1:04 pm at a private hospital in Chennai, received Padma Vibhushan Award along with former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.