Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam also known as SPB and Balu is a popular Indian playback singer, dubbing artist, actor, music director, and film producer. He was born in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh on June 4, 1946. His father S.P.Sambamurthy was a Harikatha artist who acted in plays with an amazing voice which builds musical atmosphere at home. He is fondly called as ‘Paadum Nila Balu’ which means ‘Singing Moon Balu’.
SPB’s voice is considered to have healing power. He has sung over 40,000 songs in 16 languages like Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Tulu, and many more in the span of 5 decades. He has won 6 National Awards for his work. He received 25 Nandi Awards from Andhra Pradesh state. He held the Guinness World Record for recording the highest number of songs with over 40,000 songs. He was a recipient of the civilian awards Padma Shri(2001) and Padma Bhushan(2011) from the Government of India. He bagged innumerable awards for his works.
Playback Singer and Music Director
SPB was interested in music right from his childhood and participated in various singing competitions. When he was 16, in a music competition he met singer S.Janaki where she told him that he had a wonderful voice and he could become a playback singer in films. He was selected as the best singer in a singing competition which was judged by S.P.Kodandapani and Ghantasala. He wanted to pursue engineering and enrolled at JNTU College of Engineering, Anantapur but discontinued due to typhoid which led him to become an accidental singer. He repeatedly said "It was never my desire to enter the film industry. I wanted to become a gazetted rank engineer which could fetch Rs 250 salary, a jeep with a chauffeur in the 1960s"
In 1966, Balu sang his first song for a Telugu film named Sri Sri Sri Maryadaramanna scored by S.P.Kodandapani. He considers S.P.Kodandapani as his guru and with huge respect he named his studio after him. Within a month of his debut in Telugu, he sang in Kannada and Tamil as well. He had no formal training in music but had a soulful voice which made people fall in love with his songs. He recorded duets with all singers like P.Susheela, S.Janaki, S.P.Sailaja, K.Chitra, and even many others. At the peaks of his career, he sang 20 songs in a single day which is an unbreakable record.
Balu is the voice of all evergreen songs. He became widely prominent in 1980 with a classic Telugu film named Sankarabharanam. He won his first national award for his work in his mother tongue. He made remarkable contributions in Tollywood Film Industry in movies like Sagara Sangamam, Rudraveena, Swathi Muthyam which won National Awards as well. He magically adapts his voice according to the voice of film artists. He is a versatile singer who sang for actors like NTR, ANR, Krishna, Chiranjeevi, Kamal Hassan, Allu Ramalingaiah, and lots more.
His contribution to the Tamil Industry is huge, the trio of Balu, Ilayaraja, and S.Janaki is extremely successful and he worked for actors like M. G. Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan and Gemini Ganesan, Rajinikanth, Dhanush, and other contemporary actors.
In Bollywood, he received a National Award for his first song. He has also sung for famous actors such as Salman Khan in the 1980s for films like Maine Pyaar kiya, Hum aapke hain kaun, Chennai Express and he became a romantic voice for Khans in the ’90s.
Balasubramanyam is the composer’s favorite for his powerful, soft voice, he worked with Ilayaraja, A.R.Rahman, Koti, DSP, Vidyasagar, M.M.Keeravani, Vishal Shekar, Anirudh and many more.
Besides films, he has also rendered several devotional albums and his 'Namashivaya' number and "Shivashtakam" are very famous among devotees.
He was a music composer for over 40 films. He believes singing is a god-given gift as he could sing without formal training. He loves K J Yesudas and addresses him as his guru.
Balu gave many concerts all over India and at an international level. His concerts are loved by his fans globally. He gave concerts in Kuala Lumpur, American States, and many places in India. SPB50 is one of the best concerts
Dubbing Artist
Balu accidentally became a dubbing artist with K. Balachander's film Manmadha Leela, the dubbed Telugu version of Manmadha Leelai, provided the voice-over for Kamal Haasan. He has also provided voice-overs for various artists in Tamil, Hindi industries for different characters. Actors including Rajinikanth, Salman Khan, Raghuvaran, and many more. He was a default dubbing artist for Kamal Haasan in Telugu versions of Tamil films which enhanced his relationship with Kamal. In the Telugu version of Dasavatharam, he gave voice to seven characters out of ten characters played by Kamal Haasan. He was awarded the Nandi Award for Best Male Dubbing Artist for the films Annamayya and Sri Sai Mahima.
Actor, Film Producer, and Host
Not only in the field of music, but he also proved himself as a character artist in films and received love from audiences. He acted in 72 films including Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada. No one can forget his performances in Keladi Kanmani, Kadhalan, Ullasam, and others.
SPB has also ventured into film production. He produced films named Thenali, Avvai Shanmughi, Subha Sankalpam, Adithya 369.
Balu made his mark in the television industry as well. He encouraged new talent through a musical show called Padutha Theeyaga where he acted as a host and judge s well. He judged many reality shows on TV. Swarabhishekam’s show on ETV is a musical feast to his fans.
Family
S.P Balu is married to Savitri and has two children, Pallavi and S.P.B.Charan who are also playback singers. Charan is a film producer. In memory of his parents, Balasubhramanyam donated his ancestral house in Nellore to Kanchi Sankara Peetham to run a Veda Patasala and renovated the building, spending nearly Rs 10 lakh.
Demise
SPB was admitted to MGM Hospital due to COVID-19. Later he was tested negative. His health updates were given by his son Charan on his social media account. After 50 days of struggle, he bid adieu on September 25, 2020, due to other health issues.
SPB is an epitome of discipline, talent, sincerity, and hard work. He is a legend of Indian cinema and an inspiration. He is a fun-loving person as well as a food lover. He gives immense respect to every language he sings. He will continue to live in our hearts forever and his voice will remain immortal.
To listen to the precious jukebox of SPB, tune on to SPB Jukebox
Read this article to know about Music and its Healing Effects.
Written By: Sreeram Mahima
Edited By: Bhanu Jain
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