Minister of Information & Broadcasting, M. Venkaiah Naidu, has announced that S. P. Balasubrahmanyam will be honoured at the 47th International Film Festival of India. “It’s an award, not a reward. He has been working in the film industry for the past five decades. He has rendered more than 40,000 songs till now,” an official statement from Venkaiah Naidu said.
Born as Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam in a Telugu family, the singer has received the National Film Award six times so far, and also holds a Guinness World Record for recording the maximum number of songs. He is also a recipient of other civilian honours — Padmashri and Padma Bhushan — from the Indian government.
Besides a successful career in the industry, he was also considered to be the voice of Salman Khan during the ‘90s and sang songs like ‘Mere Rang Main’, ‘Hum Apke Hain Kaun’, and ‘Pehla Pehla Pyaar Hai’.
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“He is a big name in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and also in Hindi. He has a melodious voice and hard-working nature,” the statement added.