RMIM Archive Article "163".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: S.P.B. - At the pinnacle of success
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# Posted by: devm@netcom.com (Dev Mannemela)
# Source: "India West" dated Nov. 3rd 1995
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"Dedication helps singer to reach pinnacle of Success"
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Somehow the word "gentleman" sounds a bit inadequate for a person
of his decorum, refinement and humility. But for want of a better
word in the English language, it will have to suffice.
Sripathi Panditharadyula Balasubramaniam or S.P.B., for the Indi-
an music lovers, is a charming unassuming gentleman of 48, whose
achievements have not only been phenomenal but also have tran-
scended regional barriers. If he is singing less Hindi songs than
he was four years ago, it is by choice - because Balu, as he is
known in the film industry, has curtailed his quantum of singing
in not only Hindi, but also Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films.
Telugu is his mother tongue.
"I have been selfless to my profession", he says, "My normal
schedule was: dubbing from 7-9am, shooting till 1 pm, dubbing
again till 3 in the afternoon, shooting again till 6pm and sing-
ing from 6-11pm.
Except for the two months every year when my wife and I used to
take a total break and head for the United States where my chil-
dren are based. I hardly had time for her and for relaxation.
After Maine Pyar Kiya (89-90), I was dividing a month equally
between Bombay (doing eight or more songs in a day), Bangalore
(for Kannada films) and Madras (for the other three southern
languages). The strain began to show. My throat developed a 'po-
lyp' singer's nodule) which had to be surgically excised."
SPB, therefore, feels that it is time for him to be "selfish",
look after his voice and interests, and may be fulfill his dream
of mastering classical music, he told India West in a recent in-
terview.
Since he hasn't learned classical music, what are his credentials
as a musician (he is a music director too, and specially loves
doing background scores, like he did for the Hindi films Hum
Panch and Mache Mayuri, at the `recommendation of the composers
Laxmikant-Pyarelal) and a singer?
"A good ear for music and a penchant for listening", smiles the
singer amiably, "I learned notation on my own and can, to an ex-
tent, play the harmonium and the flute" (that puts him in the
Kishore Kumar and K.L.Saigal league of self-trained singing
geniuses). "In my home-town Nellore, in Andhra Pradesh, my father
earned his living reciting HArikatha (stories about God and reli-
gion) at social and religious gatherings. He knew a little clas-
sical music and I guess I must have inherited his flair."
The father was keen on an academic career for young Sripathi, and
the boy himself set out to do so, even joining an engineering
college in Madras, but once SPB's interest in singing was con-
firmed his father advised him to make a choice on his own.
Destiny made him bid good-bye to the engineering course when (at
a college function) his voice caught the attention of music
director Kodandpani. "He asked me if I would like to sing for
films. I agreed. And that's how I entered films - by accident."
His mentor even took him to other composers and made them listen
to his singing. "If it hadn't been for him, there would no Bala.
Simple" he says matter-of-factly.
Today, the singer has a modern recording studio in Madras named
after his mentor. "It was the least I could do in his memory",
says Balasubramaniam.
Once he had made his choice, Balu pursued success single-
mindedly. Every struggle saw him become more determined, and
every pitfall increased his determination. His single-mindedness
was strengthened by his early fondness for yoga.
Though his first song recording in December 1966 was for a Telugu
film called "Sri Sri Sri Maryada Rammana", he had to struggle for
two years more before making it in Tamil films, as initially the
famous composer M.S.Viswanathan found his diction faulty. Then
came his Malayalam break under the famous composer Devarajan.
Says SPB:" I was introduced to that great man by Sekhar, father
of A.R.Rahman." Meanwhile, he also got a break in Kannada films.
His Hindi break, of course came when filmmaker L.V.Prasad decided
to make "Ek Duje Ke Liye", the telugu remake of Marocharitra, a
love story between a south Indian boy and a north India girl. "As
Kamal Hassan was playing a south Indian boy, I accepted the chal-
lenge since I knew HIndi reasonably well - it was my second
language in school all through - and I had grown up listening to
K.L.Saigal, among others. I was a HIndi film music buff but wor-
ried about my accent. I was introduced to Laxmikant-Pyarelal who
had a couple of sittings with me and they made me sing Hindi
songs. They liked me and I sang all the five songs for Kamal in
the film."
He has sung some 26,000 songs to date and has recorded songs in
Tulu, Oriya and Bengali languages also.
His list of awards and distinctions is extensive, but SPB had to
struggle for eight years in Hindi films too. "Anyways, sensations
fizzle out fast," he pointed out with another of his disarming
smiles.
After Ek Duje Ke Liye, L-P continued to give him many songs and
followed by R.D.Burman and Bappi Lahiri, who also gave him a
change in Hindi films. "Ek Duje Ke Liye." itself wrote commercial
and musical history in 1981. "But though I did sing for heroes
like Jeetendra, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Mithun and even Dharmendra
and Rajesh Khanna, I feel I was identified only with southern
heroes like Kamal (whose career soon nose-dived in Hindi films)
and Rajnikant whose forte was action, not songs."
It was only in the late 1980s when the Rajshris introduced him to
a small-fry composer with big ideas - Ramlaxman, an ardent bhakt
of SPB that SPB finally got a full-fledged chance to identify his
voice with a hep, young now-generation Bombay hero like Salman
Khan in "Maine Pyar Kiya". "This would seem like the most prob-
able answer to the million-dollar question as to why "Maine Pyar
Kiya" did for me what "Ek Duje Ke Liye" could not." The thunder-
ing success of the film and its music and the fast shift from
disco to melody at that time did the rest. "I think the time
should come for everything to happen," he sums up.
In the post-Maine Pyar Kiya phase, SPB sang most of his present
tally of around 400 HIndi film songs, most of them under Anand-
Milind and Ramlaxman. Among his hit songs were those songs in
Vansh, Prem Qaidi, Chandramukhi, Love, Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai
(Anand-Milind), Pathar Ke Phool, I love you, 100 Days, Hum Apke
Hain Koun (RamLaxman), Saajan and Majhdaar (Nadeem-Shravan),
Gardish (R.D.Burman), Andaz Apna Apna (Tushar Batia), and Roja,
HUmse Hain Muqabla (A.R.Rahman ). Strangely, during this phase,
the music directors who had earlier stood by him, L-P, RDB and
Bappi Lahiri took him sparingly.
"It is again because of time," sums up the singer. "LP have paid
me the unforgettable compliment of calling me the most talented
and versatile singer around and have given me many of my finest
songs. RDB was a great composer and he has been the most versa-
tile music director. He was also the first Bombay composer to use
my voice after L-P. For Bappi Lahiri, I do sing occasionally."
SPB's list also includes Rajesh Roshan, NiKhil-Vinay, Jatin-Lalit
and Anu Malik, who at time called his singing gimmicky. "No gim-
mickry can cover up an incorrect accent," discloses SPB in answer
to the charge often leveled against him. "Besides, I cannot do
that in every song, like say a sad song, and in case I cannot in-
dulge in it without the sanction of the composer and the direc-
tor." Anu Malik's songs for him include "The Gentleman" hit "Roop
Suhana Lagta Hai" and others in "Haathkadi" and "Shabnam".
About his accent, Balu admits that he has not reached perfection
despite the great improvement he has made over the years. "But
singing is basically an art of expressing and conveying a partic-
ular thought. The knowledge of the language or at least the mean-
ing of the words one is singing is very important, for without
that the song will have an incorrect feel, and the singer cannot
put in much feeling," he observes. "When I sang in Bengali, Tulu
and Oriya, I made it a point that they should explain the full
meaning of the lyrics to me. That way, accent becomes secon-
dary."
The fact that the talent to sing is paramount and the accent is
secondary was proved when SPB got an opportunity to sing under
Naushad in "Tere Payal Mere Geet". "To sing for a purist like him
was distant dream for me," recalls Balu, adding, "But it became a
reality when Uttam Singh, the arranger who works for RamLaxman,
Ilaiyaraaja and Naushad introduced me to him. I had my doubts
about my being able to satisfy his exacting needs. But I thought
I should at least sing in his presence because if he rejects me
that would also be a privilege." But after listening to him,
Naushad went ahead and recorded songs. He also complimented Balu
lavishly and affectionately "on my singing and faultless dic-
tion." It was the greatest compliment he received in his entire
career, the singer said.
Balasubramaniam's special asset has always been his lightning
grasp of a composition given to him. This, along with technologi-
cal advances like dubbing, is responsible for his phenomenal out-
put. "When I come to Bombay, my secretary arranges my callsheets
(dates in Bombay lingo) so that I dub as many tracks as possible.
For example, in a duet, the music track and the other singer's
track are kept ready." SPB favors these technical advances for
this and two other reasons. "If you make a mistake, that portion
can be punched in and you don't have to repeat the entire song.
And secondly, the final take can be perfect. Earlier, minor mis-
takes had to be retained because of the difficulties in doing the
entire song again."
However, the disadvantage has been that with very few exceptions,
Balu has had very few exceptions, Balu has had very little oppor-
tunity to sing "live" with this very good friend Lata Mangeshkar.
"But all our songs in "Ek Duje Ke Liye were recorded live," he
says. This also vindicates his stand on modern gadgetry. For
between thm, the peerless Lata and the superb SPB have comple-
mented each other so beautifully in their many duets that no one
would have believed that they had dubbed them separately.
Balsubramaniam toured with Lata Mangeshkar during her tour of the
U.S. recently. Both Balu and Lata attended the AAPIO annual pro-
gram in July which President Clinton inaugurated in Chicago.
Apart from singing and music direction, Balu is also an actor.
When he was 44, "by a freak chance, a film called "Keladi Kan-
mani" in which I had my first major role became a huge hit and I
was flooded with offers," he grins. "Acting gives me a break from
singing all the time. Besides, anyway we act in front of the
mikes."
Recently, SPB was great as Prabhu Deva's cop-brother in Kaadhalan
(dubbed in Hindi as "Humse Hain Muqabla"). Balu admires
A.R.Rahman, but his all-time idol is M.S.Viswnathan, and
R.D.Burman on the Hindi scene. Among the old-timers from Bombay,
he rates S.D.Burman, Madan Mohan, Roshan, Khaiyyam and Jaidev
very highly. While he is a great fan of our singing greats, among
his contemporaries, he has raves about Suresh Wadkar. He loves
jazz, but not disco, and his hobby is photography - time permit-
ting of course.
Subramaniam's wife Savithri is, he says: "A good listener." His
son is studying in New York, while his daughter has completed her
studies in radiation therapy, also in the U.S.
And so the singer strides on, charming millions of fans with his
soothing, unique and melodious voice, and taking time out to act
and compose music as well.
He decisively rates "Aate Jaate" as "Maine Payar Kiya"'s best
song, even though he got a National Award for "Dil Diwana," and
regrets that he did not get any national award for his songs in
"Hum Aapke Hain Koun"! But he is also happy for Kumar Sanu, who
swept all the awards for "1942: A LOve Story."
SPB is too much of a nice person to bear petty grudges.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian