Indian film singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, aka Balu, aged 74, hospitalized on August 5 for symptoms of coronavirus on a private hospital, is on life support. A leading figure in Indian cinema, Balasubrahmanyam, known to fans simply as “SPB” or “Balu,” has more than 1,000 credits as a playback singer.” His condition remains critical,” Anuradha Baskaran, Assistant Director of Medical Services at MGM Healthcare in Chennai, said in a statement. Millions of people in the city and across the world began to pray for him. “I request all the music fans to pray for this legend along with me ..#SPBalasubrahmanyam ..he has given us so much joy with his amazing voice!”, Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman paid tribute to Balasubrahmanyam on Twitter. Balasubrahmanyam, who has worked across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam film industries. According to the statement from MGM Healthcare, the musician is stable and is being closely monitored by doctors for clinical parameters.
SPB has sung over 40,000 songs in 16 languages, most of them as a playback singer in all South Indian languages and in Hindi. He as been the recipient of six national awards. Actors, singers and musicians from the film industry took to social media to wish the singer a quick recovery. India registered its first death related to Covid-19 on March 10 and has so far recorded a total of 48,040 fatalities and 2.46 million cases.
