Kamal Haasan On SP Balasubrahmanyam: He Was Part Of My First Love, Marriage And Melancholy

Mumbai: Superstar Kamal Haasan on Friday said he looks back at his five-decade-long bond with legendary singer SP Balasubramaniam as an act of fate, where the latter became an inseparable part of his life. Balasubrahmanyam, 74, died on Friday after being admitted to a hospital on August 5. He had tested positive for COVID-19. In his glorious career of over 50 years, SPB, as the singer was fondly called, was known as the voice of Haasan, not only dubbing for his films in Telugu but singing songs for him, most notably in the 1981 blockbuster “Ek Duje Ke Liye”.

The film marked the singer’s Hindi debut and he continued singing for Haasan in movies like “Zara Si Zindagi”, “Ek Nai Paheli”, “Dekha Pyar Tumhara” and “Appu Raja” among others. Over a virtual press conference, the 65-year-old actor described SPB as his “greatest public relations man” as he would always shower love and praise on him. “I heard him first before I saw him. Like everyone else, he has been a part of my romance, melancholy, part of my happiness, first love and marriage as well. “I used to complain to him that it’s only your songs that got me into marriage! That’s the kind of relationship (I had with him),” Haasan told reporters. The actor said it would be impossible to recollect the first time he met SPB as it’s similar to recalling “the first time you saw your mother. Haasan credited fans for their union as artistes. “We were knitted together by popular choice. It was not like we chose each other. The audience chose us. Since they loved us as a pair, we started falling in love and later became brothers.” A six-time national award winner, Balasubrahmanyam, who had sung over 40,000 songs, was also honoured with Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2011.