RMIM Archive Article "257".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: No Parallel for SPB
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# Source: Indian Express (http://expressindia.com)
# Author: B Utthara Kumari
# Copyright 1996 India Express Publications.
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There is no parallel for S P Balasubramanian
B Utthara Kumari
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BANGALORE, December 27: His is the voice you could go on listen-
ing to forever. Rich and pure, it's tinged with the kind of magic
that is guaranteed to get to the heart strings.
Last week, he completed 30 musical years in the film industry.
Meet Sripathi Panditharadhyula Balasubramanyam. Or simply SPB to
his fans and admirers.
A genius. His deep voice lends itself beautifully to any kind of
song. And he has become the voice of all top heroes and comedians
in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil.
With absolutely no formal training in music, he has risen to
become the uncrowned king of music. This king of the song is not
just a voice: He has a talented finger in every cinema pie.
It's true that 24 hours in a day are not enough for this music
machine. This man who has sung thousands of songs in more than a
dozen languages, is a master of many trades -- a wonderful mimic,
a brilliant singer, an accomplished actor, a committed producer
and a talented music director.
Today, he has even embraced the small screen. His Paduta Teeyaga
programme on ETV where he is the anchor man, is always top in the
ratings.
Though he concedes that there are better voices and singers in
the film industry, he attributes his immense popularity to ``that
extra touch'' which he imparts to a song. His talent for mimicry
makes him the voice of all.
But even SPB had to struggle to be accepted by people. In fact,
when he started off, he was politely asked to undergo formal
training in music. Telugu music director S Kodandapani who recog-
nised SPB's talent, gave him his break in the Telugu film Sri Sri
Sri Maryada Ramanna Katha.
But all was not smooth-sailing for him. In the days when he
replaced Ghantasala as the voice for A Nageswara Rao and N T Rama
Rao, he was rejected. He had to study their dialogue delivery and
adapt his voice to match theirs.
Then in the early '70s, he was shunned by the Telugu film indus-
try, as another singer whose voice is similar to that of late
Ghantasala's, emerged on the scene. But SPB whose talent is
undisputed, came back with a bang. And the rest is musical his-
tory.
SPB is so grateful to his mentor late S Kodandapani that he named
his production banner after him and produced a couple of good
films.
This five-time national award winner -- he won awards for Shan-
karabharanam, Ek Duje Ke Liye, Sagara Sangamam, Rudraveena and
Panchakshari Gavai -- almost did not sing for Shankarabharanam
and the Kannada film Panchakshari Gavai.
He reportedly did not want to sing for Shankarabharanam as he did
not want to `ruin' this film based on classical music, with his
untrained voice. But the music director, who felt in his bones
that SPB could deliver the goods, persuaded him to sing for this
film.
And after continuously playing the cassette for a couple of days,
SPB learnt the songs and sang them so beautifully that it is dif-
ficult to believe that he was lacking in confidence.
According to Hamsalekha, SPB was reluctant to sing for Pan-
chakshari Gavai as he (SPB) felt there were better singers than
him who could do justice to the classical songs. But Hamsalekha
persuaded him and the entire unit worked hard to get the best out
of SPB. And the result is there for all to see: He won the
national award.
An ardent fan of Mohammed Rafi, SPB says he fashions his singing
in the Rafi style. S Janaki is his other source of inspiration.
In fact, it was Janaki who spotted his talent first at a singing
contest and encouraged him to sing in films.
SPB who made his debut in Kannada in Nakkare Swarga more than two
decades ago, is even today the voice of all Kannada heroes. In
Tamil too, he reigns supreme. In Hindi, he ghost-voices for Sal-
man Khan mostly.
He feels that present day music gives more importance to rhythm
than to melody and lyrics. He hopes this trend will change. As
for vulgar songs, SPB has been refusing to sing them. ``Today, I
am in a position to say `no'. But budding singers may be forced
to sing such numbers. We can't blame them really for they are
here to make money.''
SPB has brought out the sparkle in the lyricism of several poets
and has lent that little extra something to the melodies of innu-
merable composers. He wants to quit when the going is good. But
his fans may not allow him to. This humble man has come a long
way since his tentative beginnings in 1966. And he has done it
alone. SPB imitators are many. They can keep trying. But the SPB
magic remains unparalleled.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian