Music: SP.Balasubramanyam - ఎస్.పి.బీ
Singer: SP.Balasubramanyam - ఎస్.పి.బీ

A lovely rare melody composed by the great SP.Balasubramanyam, and also sung by himself. This was one of his movies as a Music Director.

"Dedication helps singer to reach pinnacle of Success"

Somehow the wors "gentleman" sounds a bit inadequate for a person of his
decorum, refinement and humility. But for want of a better word in the English
language, it will have to suffice.

Sripathi Panditharadyula Balasubramaniam or S.P.B., for the Indian music
lovers, is a charming unassuming gentleman of 48, whose achievements have not
only beennn phenomenal but also have transcended regional barriers. If he is
singing less Hindi songs than he was four years ago, it is by choice - because
Balu, as he is known in the film industry, has curtailed his quantum of singing
in not only Hindi, but also Telugu, Kannada and Tamil films. Telugu is his
mother tongue.

"I have been selfless to my profession", he says, "My normal schedule
was: dubbing gtom 7-9am, shooting till 1 pm, dubbing again till 3 in the
afternoon, shooting again till 6pm and singing from 6-11pm. Except for the two
months every year when my wife and I used to take a total break and head
for the United States where my children are based. I hardly had time for her
and for relaxation. After Maine Pyar Kiya (89-90), I was dividing a month
equally between Bombay (doing eight or more songs in a day), banglore (for
Kannada films) and Madras (for the other three southern languages). The strain
began to show. My throat developed a 'polyp' singer's nodule) which had to
be surgically excised."

SPB, therefore, feels that it is time for him to be "selfish", look after his
voice and interests, and may be fulfill his dream of mastering
classical music, he told India West in a recent interview.

Since he hasn't learned classical music, what are his credentials as a musician
(he is a music director too, and specially loves doing background scores,
like he did for the Hindi films Hum Panch and Mache Mayuri, at the
recommendation of the composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal) and a singer?

"A good ear fot music and a penchant for listening", smiles the singer amiably,
"I learnt notation on my own and can, to an extent, play the harmonium and the
flute" (that puts him in the Kishore Kumar and K.L.Saigal league of
self-trained singing genuises). "In my home-town Nellore, in Andhra Pradesh,
my father earned his living reciting HArikatha (stories about God and religion)
at social and religious gatherings. He knew a little classical music and
I guess I must have inherited his flair."

The father was keen on an academic career for young Sripathi, and the boy
himself set out to do so, even joining an engineering college in Madras, but
once SPB's interest in singing was confirmed his father advised him to make a
choice on his own.

Destiny made him bid good-bye to the engineering course when (at a college
function) his voice caught the attention of music director Kodandpani. "He
asked me if I would like to sing for films. I agreed. And that's how I entered
films - by accident." His mentor even took him to other composers and made them
listen to his singing. "If it hadn't been for him, there would no Bala. Simple"
he says matter-of-factly.

Today, the singer has a modern recording studio in Madras named after
his mentor. "It was the least I could do in his memory", says Balasubramaniam.

Once he had made his choice, Balu purused success single-mindedly. Every
struggle saw him become more determined, and every pitfall increased his
determination. His single-mindedness was strengthened by his early fondness
for yoga.

Though his first song recording in December 1966 was for a Telugu film
called "Sri Sri Sri Maryada Rammana", he had to struggle for two years more
before making it in Tamil films, as initially the famous composer
M.S.Viswanathan found his diction faulty. Then came his Malayalam break under
the famous composer Devarajan. Says SPB:" I was introduced to that great man
by Sekhar, father of A.R.Rahman." Meanwhile, he also got a break in Kannada
films.

His Hindi break, of course came when filmmaker L.V.Prasad decided to make
"Ek Duje Ke Liye", the telugu remake of Marocharitra, a love story between
a south Indian boy and a north India girl. "As Kamal Hassan was playing
a south Indian boy, I accepted the challenge since I knew HIndi reasonably well
- it was my second language in school all through - and I had grown up listening
to K.L.Saigal, among others. I was a HIndi film music buff but worried about
my accent. I was introduced to Laxmikant-Pyarelal who had a couple of sittings
with me and they made me sing Hindi songs. They liked me and I sang all the
five songs for Kamal in the film."

He has sung some 26,000 songs to date and has recorded songs in Tulu, Oriya
and Bengali languages also.

His list of awards and distinctions is extensive, but SPB had to struggle
for eight years in Hindi films too. "Anyways, sensations fixxle out fast," he
pointed out with another of his disarming smiles.

After Ek Duje..., L-P continued to give him many songs and followed by
R.D.Burman and Bappi Lahiri, who also gave him a change in Hindi films. "Ek
Duje..." itself wrote commercial and musical history in 1981. "But though I did
sing for heroes like Jeetendra, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Mithun and even Dharmendra
and Rajesh Khanna, I feel I was identified only with southern heroes like Kamal
(whose career soon nose-dived in Hindi films) and Rajnikant whose forte was
action, not songs."

It was only in the late 1980s when the Rajshris introduced him to a
small-fry composer with big ideas - Ramlaxman, an ardent bhakt of SPB that SPB
finally got a full-fledged chance to identify his voice with a hep, young
now-generation Bombay hero like Salman Khan in "Maine Pyar Kiya". "This would
seem like the most probable answer to the million-dollar question as to why
"Maine Pyar iya" did for me what "Ek Duje Ke Liye" could not." The thundering
success of the film and its music and the fast shift from disco to melody at
that time did the rest. "I think the time should come for everything to happen,"
he sums up.

In the post-Maine Pyar Kiya phase, SPB sang most of his present tally of
around 400 HIndi film songs, most of them under Anand-Milind and Ramlaxman.
Among his hit songs were those songs in
Vansh, Prem Qaidi, Chandramukhi, Love, Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hai (Anand-Milind),
Pathar Ke Phool, I love you, 100 Days, Hum Apke Hain Koun (RamLaxman),
Saajan and Majhdaar (Nadeem-Shravan),
Gardish (R.D.Burman),
Andaz Apna Apna (Tushar Batia), and
Roja, HUmse Hain Muqabla (A.R.Rahman ).
Strangely, during this phase, the music directors who had earlier stood by him,
L-P, RDB and Bappi Lahiri took him sparingly.

"It is again because of time," sums up the singer. "LP have paid me
the unforgettable compliment of calling me the most talented and versatile
singer around and have given me many of my finest songs. RDB was a great
composer and he has been the most versatile music director. He was also the
first Bombay composer to use my voice after L-P. For Bappi Lahiri, I do sing
occasionally."

SPB's list also includes Rajesh Roshan, NiKhil-Vinay, Jatin-Lalit and
Anu Malik, who at time called his singing gimmicky. "No gimickry can cover up
an incorrect accent," discloses SPB in answer to the charge often levelled
against him. "Besides, I cannot do that in every song, like say a sad song,
and in case I cannot indulge in it without the sanction of the composer and
the director." Anu Malik's songs for him include "The Gentleman" hit
"Roop Suhana Lagta Hai" and others in "Haathkadi" and "Shabnam".

About his accent, Balu admits that he has not reached perfection despite
the great improvement he has made over the years. "But singing is basically
an art of expressing and conveyting a particular thought. The knowledge of the
language or atleast the meaning of the words one is singing is very important,
for without that the song will have an incorrect feel, and the singer cnnot put
in much feeling," he observes. "When I sang in Bengali, Tulu and Oriya, I
made it a point that they should explain the full meaning of the lyrics to me.
That way, accent becomes secondary."

The fact that the talent to sing is paramount and the accent is secondary
was proved when SPB got an oppurtunity to sing under Naushad in "Tere Payal
Mere Geet". "To sing for a purist like him was distant dream for me," recalls
Balu, adding, "But it became a reality when Uttam Singh, the arranger who works
for RamLaxman, Ilaiyaraaja and Naushad introduced me to him. I had my doubts
about my being able to satisfy his exacting needs. But I thought I should
atleast sing in his presence because if he rejects me that would also be
a privilege." But after listening to him, Naushad went ahead and
recorded songs. He also complimented Balu lavishly and affectionately "on my
singing and faultless diction." It was the greatest compliment he received
in his entire career, the singer said.

Balasubramaniam's special asset has always been his lightning grasp of
a composition given to him. This, along with technological advances like
dubbing, is responsible for his phenemonal output. "When I come to Bombay,
my secretary arranges my callsheets (dates in Bombay lingo) so that I dub as
many tracks as possible. For example, in a duet, the music track and the other
singer's track are kept ready." SPB favors these technical advances for this
and two other reasons. "If you make a mistake, that portion can be punched in
and you don't have to repeat the entire song. And secondly, the final take can
be perfect. Earlier, minor mistakes had to be retained because of the
difficulties in doing the entire song again."

However, the disadvantage has been that with very few exceptions, Balu
has had very few exceptions, Balu has had very little oppurtunity to sing
"live" with this very good friend Lata Mangeshkar.

"But all our songs in "Ek Duje Ke Liye were recorded live," he says. This
also vindicates his stand on modern gadgetry. For between thm, the peerless
Lata and the superb SPB have complemented each other so beautifully in their
many duets that no one would have believed that they had dubbed them
separately.

Balsubramaniam toured with Lata Mangeshkar during her tour of the U.S.
recently. Both Balu and Lata attended the AAPIO annual program in July which
President Clinton inaugurated in Chicago.

Apart from singing and music direction, Balu is also an actor. When he was
44, "by a freak chance, a film called "Keladi Kanmani" in which I had my first
major role became a huge hit and I was flooded with offers," he grins. "Acting
gives me a break from singing all the time. Besides, anyway we act in front of
the mikes."

Recently, SPB was great as Prabhu Deva's cop-brother in Kaadhalan (dubbed
in Hindi as "Humse Hain Muqabla"). Balu admires A.R.Rahman, but his all-time
idol is M.S.Viswnathan, and R.D.Burman on the Hindi scene. Among the old-timers
from Bombay, he rates S.D.Burman, Madan Mohan, Roshan, Khaiyyam and Jaidev
very highly. While he is a great fan of our singing greats, among his
contemporaries, he has raves about Suresh Wadkar. He loves jazz, but not disco,
and his hobby is photography - time permitting of course.

Subramaniam's wife Savithri is, he says: "A good listener." His son is
studying in New York, while his daughter has completed her studies in radiation
therapy, also in the U.S.

And so the singer strides on, charming millions of fans with his soothing,
unique and melodious voice, and taking time out to act and compose music as
well.

He decisively rates "Aate Jaate" as "Maine Payar Kiya"'s best song, even
though he got a National Award for "Dil Diwana," and regrets that he did not
get any national award for his songs in "Hum Aapke Hain Koun"! But he is also
happy for Kumar Sanu, who swept all the awards for "1942: A LOve Story."

SPB is too much of a nice person to bear petty grudges.
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