Legendary playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam passes away

Chennai:Legendary playback singerS P Balasubrahmanyam, popularly called as 'SPB',who tested positive for COVID-19, died at a private here on Friday afternoon after battling for lifefor 51 days.

In a brief media action outside the MGM Healthcare,where SPB was admitted on August five after testingpositive for corona, his son SPB Charan said he passed away at 0104 hrs.

Bollywood fraternity on Friday condoled the demise of legendary playback singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, saying it's a huge loss for the industry and the nation.

Taking to Twitter, Lata Mangeshkar said,"Pratibhashaali gayak,madhurbhashi ,bahut nek insan SP Balasubrahmanyam ji ke swargwas ki khabar sunke main bahut vyathit hun.Humne kai gaane saath gaaye,kai shows kiye.Sab baatein yaad aarahi hain.Ishwar unki aatma ko shanti de.Meri samvedanaayein unke pariwar ke saath hain."

A R Rahman said,"#ripspb ...Devastated".

Akshay Kumar said,"Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of Balasubrahmanyam ji.Just a few months back I’d interacted with him during a virtual concert in this lockdown..he seemed hale,hearty & his usual legendary self...life is truly unpredictable. My thoughts & prayers with his family."

Johny Lever said,"Very sad to hear about the demise of the legend Shri #SPBalasubramaniam Garu...It’s a huge loss to not just the film fraternity but also our nation. Our prayers and condolences to the family. May his soul rest in peace...#RIPSPB".

Mahesh Babu said,"Unable to process the fact that #SPBalasubramaniam garu is no more. Nothing will ever come close to that soulful voice of his. Rest in peace sir. Your legacy will live on. Heartfelt condolences and strength to the family."

Riteish Deshmukh said,"Ham bane tum bane-Ek Duje Ke Liye #SPBalasubrahmanyam ji -thank you for the amazing music: -with a heavy heart I say... Saathiya ye Tune Kya Kiya? Rest in glory Sir. Condolences to the family, loved ones & millions of fans world over."

Kriti Kharbanda said,"Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies. #SPBalasubramaniam rest in peace sir love and strength to the family and fans".

Neil Nitin Mukesh said,"My deepest condolences to the entire family. This is really sad news indeed. Have loved all his songs. His voice and style was unparalleled. May you Rest in peace sir !!#SPBalasubrahmanyam".

Shruti Haasan said,"Deeply saddened by the loss of #SPBalasubramaniam sir.. thankyou for your artistry and your kind words.may the halls of heaven be filled with your resplendent voice. You were family and the loss is heartbreaking".

Sudheer Babu said,"Indian Cinema will never be the same without you. Rest in peace LEGEND. #SPB".SPB worked predominantly in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, and Malayalam films. He sung over 40,000 songs in 16 Indian languages.

He has garnered six National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer for his works in four different languages; Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi; 25 Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Awards for his works towards Telugu cinema, numerous other state awards from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.(UNI)