SPB took the Indian film music scene by storm in 1979 with his phenomenally successful rendition for the movie SHANKARABHARANAM. He won his first National Award for the same and came the international fame. After this, there was no looking back. He consistently topped the Indian musical charts.
He has none of the airs of a star. His warm, vibrant nature and almost childlike innocence is infectious. He does not obtrude his presence on others and does give people due respect. He has a magnetic stage presence and enthralls the audience with an exceptional performance, inspiring the other singers to match his emotions and energy with a mesmerizing voice and passionate singing style. An easy-going person, Balu can be bubbly and charming with any age group.
Balu was born on June 4, 1946, in Konetampet, then in Andhra Pradesh, now in Tamil Nadu. His father, Sri. S.P. Sambhamurthy was a fine musician and an excellent exponent of "Harikatha" (a fine art form of entertainment combined with music and storytelling).
Blessed with an adorable voice and impeccable musical skills, SPB was never trained to be a singer. A young, Telugu-speaking lad from Andhra Pradesh, like any other boy his age was studying to pursue a career in Engineering. He had a natural flair for singing and participated in most of the singing contests from college. In one such contest, was spotted by his mentor the late, Sri. S.P. Kodandapani. Balu won the first prize and walked out with his first break to sing in the film "SRI SRI SRI MARYADA RAMANNA" in 1966. Thus began a legendary career which became history.
Balus first break in Hindi films was EK DUJE KE LIYE. Subsequently, he created history by bagging the National Award for his first song in the first Hindi movie.
So far, Balu has sung over a record 36,000 plus songs in a span of 39 years, in all languages which include several albums of contemporary Indian music, private albums for devotional songs and movies. It is amazing to see the ease with which Balu can render his voice for any language namely, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Tulu, Oriya, Assamese and Punjabi.
There has been no arena of music left for experimentation.
- From singing to composing was a short leap, compiling music for 45 films in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Hindi.
- Dubbing for south Indian stars is another venture that brought him recognition for his deep and astounding voice. He even received the best dubbing artiste award for ANNAMAYYA for lending his voice to Suman, who played Lord Balaji in the movie.
- He has also successfully portrayed character roles in as many as 45 films in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.
| Prestigious Titles 1999 Doctorate from Pottisreeramulu University (A.P). Presented by Governor Rangarajan. 2001 Padma Shri Award from the President of India K.R. Narayanan 2011 Padma Vibhushan from President of India, Smt Pratibhabharati. | |||||||||
| National Awards | |||||||||
| 1979 | Sankarabharanam (Telugu) | ||||||||
| 1981 | Ek Duje Keliye (Hindi) | ||||||||
| 1983 | Sagara Sangamam (Telugu) | ||||||||
| 1988 | Rudra Veena (Telugu) | ||||||||
| 1995 | Gaana Yogi Panchashari Gavai (Kannada) | ||||||||
| 1996 | Minsara Kanavu (Tamil) | ||||||||
State Awards:
- 1981 'Kalai Mamani' by Tamilnadu Government
- Andhra Pradesh Government Award - Received 10 times
- Tamil Nadu Government Award - Received 3 times
- Film Fans' Association (Madras) Award(oldest association in the country) - Received 20 times
| Other Awards | |
| September 1, 2002 | Life time Achievement Award "Play back King", conferred during TVS Victor Aalaapana Music Awards function for the years 2001 & 2002, at Hyderabad |
| August 5, 2002 | "Dr. Bezawada Gopala Reddy Award", given during a function in Nellore |
| April 7, 2002 | Delhi Telugu Academy's 'Rashtriya Vikas Shiromani Award (Life time)' in 2002 on the occasion of 'Ugadi 2002', held in New Delhi |
| Year 2002 | |
| Year 2001 | |
| Year 1990 | Film Fare Award for the film 'Maine Pyar Kiya' |
| | Mia Tansen Award Sur Singar Sanjad (Bombay) for best classical rendition of a song from 'Tere Payal Mere Geeth' composed by Naushad Sab |
| | Innumerable Awards from Magazines & Associations fostering films |
Achievements:
- Has recorded over 36,000 songs in a span of 35 years, which include film songs and devotional numbers recorded by various recording companies of the country. It's a world record which will be soon entering into the Guinness Book of World Records.
- Has recorded 17 songs in Kannada for the composer Upendra Kumar in Bangalore from 9.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. on February 8, 1981 which is a record.
- Has recorded 19 songs in Tamil in a day, and 16 songs in Hindi in a day, which is a notable achievement.
Activities:
- Traveled abroad extensively and gave live music performances in countries like Singapore, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, U.A.E., U.K., Germany, Switzerland, France, Canada, U.S.A. and Norway.
- Balu has used his voice not only for singing but also for dubbing for various artists like Bhagyaraj, Mohan, Girish Karnad, Gemini Ganesh, Naresh, Karthik, Raghuvaran, Vinodkumar etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment