Google honoured Indian singer KK, aka Krishnakumar Kunnath, with an animated doodle on Friday (October 25). On this day in 1996, the late singer's first Bollywood song, Chhod Aaye Hum, was released. The song was featured in Gulzar's political thriller Maachis. The doodle features KK standing and singing with a mic in his hand against the backdrop of Google. We could also spot some music notes and star emojis in the background. The search giant explained the relevance of the doodle in a note on their website which read, "This Doodle celebrates Krishnakumar Kunnath, also known as KK, a successful Indian playback singer most known for his versatility. He is widely remembered for recording songs in several languages including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Bengali, Assamese, and Gujarati.”
Known for songs like Khuda Jaane, Ankhon Mein Teri, and Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai, KK sang over 500 songs in Hindi and more than 200 in Telugu, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam over a three-decade-long career. The singer died on May 31, 2022, in Kolkata, hours after his concert. Days after his death, KK's son Nakul Krishna shared an emotional note on Instagram. He wrote, “Took me a while to come to terms with what happened 3 weeks ago. Even now the pain is physical, like I'm being choked, as though people are standing on my chest. I wanted to say something, share anything about my dad but I finally understood immobility in a state of shock. I finally comprehend true pain, I've only now realised the privilege you granted me, not the privilege of a comfortable life, I always knew I was blessed in that regard. The greatest privilege I ever had was the opportunity to witness you everyday.”
Nakul also talked about the massive love and support their family got from fans after KK's death. "And here we were, being showered and inundated with your love every moment. I got to see your perspective on everything; how you treated people, how passionate you were about everything you did, especially singing. How generously you loved. Only focusing on the positives, and completely disregarding the negatives," read the caption.
KK embarked on his musical journey in 1994 when he submitted his demo tape to a popular Indian artist and started performing commercial jingles. He sang almost 3,500 jingles in 11 languages before stepping into the world of Hindi cinema. In 1999, KK launched his first album Pal which debuted to positive responses from the masses.