Legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, who had been undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai after testing positive for COVID-19 during the first week of August, passed away today after a long battle with the coronavirus.
“Thiru S P Balasubrahmanyam, who had been admitted at MGM Healthcare on August 5th, remains on ECMO and other life support measures. His condition in the last 24 hours has deteriorated further, warranting maximal life support, and he is extremely critical. The team of experts at MGM Healthcare are closely monitoring his health condition,” the statement read.
Shripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (SPB) was revered by fans across age groups for his unparalleled contribution to Indian music. He held a Guinness World record for singing over 40,000 songs.
Besides singing in movies across 16 languages including Tamil, Telugu Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, SP Balasubrahmanyam also played significant roles in many films. His major movies include Keladi Kanmani (1990), Thiruda Thiruda (1993), Kadhalan (1994), Ullaasam (1996) and others.
In a career spanning over five decades, SPB won six National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and 25 Nandi Awards. The Government of India honoured the singer-actor with Padma Shri in 2001 Padma Bhushan in 2011.
