Veteran singer S P Balasubrahmanyam's death has left a void in the music industry which can never be filled. The 74-year-old singer, who was admitted to Chennai's MGM Healthcare hospital on August 5 after testing positive for COVID-19, died on Friday. His death left the South film industry heartbroken with a flood of emotional posts inundating social media. The tributes were led by actors Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, two of S P Balasubrahmanyam's most frequent collaborators. Mr Balasubrahmanyam was popularly considered the voice of three actors - Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan and Salman Khan.
Rajinikanth tweeted: "RIP Balu sir ... you have been my voice for many years ... your voice and your memories will live with me forever ... I will truly miss you." Kamal Haasan tweeted: "It's my good fortune that I was the shadow image of S P Balasubrahmanyam's voice for a long time. His fame will live for 7 generations."
#RIP Balu sir ... you have been my voice for many years ... your voice and your memories will live with me forever ... I will truly miss you ... pic.twitter.com/oeHgH6F6i4
— Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) September 25, 2020
— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) September 25, 2020
National Award-winning music composer Ilaiyaraaja, who worked extensively with S P Balasubrahmanyam, paid his "heartfelt tribute" to the singer like this:
Music maestro AR Rahman, who worked closely with S P Balasubrahmanyam in many films starting with Rahman's 1992 debut Roja, shared a picture of himself and the singer and tweeted: "Devastated."
#ripspb ...Devastated pic.twitter.com/EO55pd648u
— A.R.Rahman (@arrahman) September 25, 2020
Actor Dhanush mourned the veteran singer with these words: "RIP, SPB sir. The voice which will echo in everyone's house forever, a family member in every household. Your voice and you will continue to live with us for generations to come. My condolences to his family and dear ones. Thank you, sir for everything sir. You will be dearly missed."
Rip SPB sir the voice which will echo in everyone's house forever, a family member in every household. Ur voice and U will continue to live with us for generations to come. My condolences to his family and dear ones. Thank you sir for everything sir. you will be dearly missed
— Dhanush (@dhanushkraja) September 25, 2020
National Award-winner playback singer Hariharan, who worked with S P Balasubrahmanyam in the past, tweeted: "It is so tragic, the most unfortunate happening. SPB sir was a humble and helpful human being. He was one of the most phenomenal singers of our county. He ruled the music industry, to me he was an elder brother. He was an inspiration, so loving to me. Anna, I will miss you. RIP."
It is so tragic, the most unfortunate happening. SPB sir was a humble & helpful human being. He was one of the most phenomenal singers of our county. He ruled the music industry, to me he was an elder brother. He was an inspiration, so loving to me.
— Hariharan (@SingerHariharan) September 25, 2020
Anna, I will miss you. RIP pic.twitter.com/QASKZQPhaU
Actor Mahesh Babu, in his eulogy piece, wrote: "Unable to process the fact that S P Balasubramaniam 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 Folded hands."
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
— Mahesh Babu (@urstrulyMahesh) September 25, 2020
Musician K S Chithra, who sang several duets with S P Balasubrahmanyam, wrote: "An era is over. Music will never be the same. World will never be the same. Words are not enough to thank him for guiding me to be a better singer. Cannot think about a concert without your great and gracious presence."
An era is over. Music will never be the same. World will never be the same. Words are not enough to Thank him for guiding me to be a better singer. Cannot think about a concert without your great & gracious presence. Condolences &prayers to Savithriamma,Charan,Pallavi & Family. pic.twitter.com/vIteV53TRf
— K S Chithra (@KSChithra) September 25, 2020
Sharing a photo of S P Balasubrahmanyam, Mammootty described him as "the true legend."
"Sangeetha swarangal ezhae kanakkaa
— Mammootty (@mammukka) September 25, 2020
Innum irukkaa"
SPB - The True Legend. RIP#SPBalasubrahmanyam pic.twitter.com/PDVawVy5QJ
Rajinikanth's daughter, filmmaker Soundarya, tweeted: "Rest in peace, SPB sir."
#RIP SPB sir pic.twitter.com/1jFLezzZph
— soundarya rajnikanth (@soundaryaarajni) September 25, 2020
"Oh, God! My heart is broken to pieces along with crores of music lovers hearing his demise. But, I may get back only by the songs he left for us," tweeted music composer Harris Jayaraj.
Oh, God! My heart is broken to pieces along with crores of music lovers hearing his demise. But, I may get back only by the songs he left for us. My condolences to families, Friends of #SPBalasubrahmanyam Garu. @KTVTAMIL @SunTV @sunnewstamil @Tv_thanthi @news18dotcom pic.twitter.com/KQQiSr1HJN
— Harris Jayaraj (@Jharrisjayaraj) September 25, 2020
"Rest in peace sir. You will forever be the voice of eternal love... My condolences and prayers to the family and fans," tweeted actress Aditi Rao Hydari, who works in both the Hindi and South industries.
Rest in peace sir. You will forever be the voice of eternal love... My condolences and prayers to the family and fans... #RIPSPB #SPBalasubramaniam
— Aditi Rao Hydari (@aditiraohydari) September 25, 2020
Several other south stars such as Mohanlal, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Venkatesh Daggubati, Dulquer Salmaan, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Keerthy Suresh, Rana Daggubati and R Madhavan also paid tributes to the veteran singer on Instagram. "There will never be another .#RIPSP. An unbearable loss. Strength to the family," wrote Samantha while Venkatesh Daggubati mourned S P Balasubrahmanyam with these words: "Extremely sad to hear the news of SP Balasubramaniam garu's passing. I've had the privilege to work with him in some of my best movies like Prema and Pavitra Bandham. We have lost a legend today. My heartfelt condolences to the family. RIP." Mohanlal wrote: "A true loss to the world of music...Heart breaking ... May his soul rest in peace."
RIP... the heavens are lucky SPB sir. pic.twitter.com/cHGMVnWMGN
— Ranganathan Madhavan (@ActorMadhavan) September 25, 2020
S P Balasubrahmanyam was admitted to MGM Healthcare hospital on August 5 after he was diagnosed with coronavirus. Despite testing negative for COVID-19 at the beginning of this month and showing improvement, SPB could not be taken off the ventilator. His condition worsened on Thursday and he died in hospital on Friday afternoon.
S P Balasubrahmanyam, winner of six National Awards, had a vast body of work that spans 40,000 songs in 16 languages. He worked extensively with Ilaiyaraaja, A R Rahman and other composers. He was also an actor, producer and voice actor. Mr Balasubrahmanyam received the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan.
