Condolences pour in for SPB

Condolences and messages from members of the Tamil film industry continued to pour in on Saturday for S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, who passed away on Friday afternoon.

Singer Anuradha Sriram said that for several singers like herself, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam was an “encyclopedia” of sorts. “When it came to film music, he had been there, and had done it all. He was a pioneer. If any of us wanted a reference or some guidance on how to go about a song, we could be sure that SPB sir had already sung a track like that, and we looked up to it,” she said.

Among the several videos shared on social media of SPB’s appearances on singing shows on TV, one was a clip of him and Ms. Sriram, where she stands next to him, in awe, as he sings

En Kadhaley from

Duet .

“He performed as if every performance was his first — he was extremely meticulous, prepared and committed. No concert happened without a rehearsal and his thoroughness was something we all aimed to emulate,” she said, reminiscing about singing with him on stage.

Recalling how SPB dubbed for him in the Telugu film Athadu , actor Nasser said it was a rare instance where the singer dubbed for someone other than actor Kamal Haasan in Telugu.

“His voice lent a whole new dimension to my character and the movie took my career to greater heights. I consider this a personal gift that he has given me and will always be thankful to him for that,” he said.

Actor Nayanthara said he was the “voice of all seasons and all reasons”. “Even at this juncture of mourning, our search to emote ends only in your songs. Such was your presence,” she said in a statement.

Condolences pour in for SPB

Film industry colleagues remember their interactions with the late singer