Music

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Indian film musician, dead at 74 of COVID-19

Bollywood has lost one of its biggest stars: musician S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, 74.

The singer who voiced thousands of musical pieces for Indian film had been on life support for more than a month after experiencing COVID-19-related pneumonia. He died Friday afternoon, CNN reported.

“In a further setback this morning, despite maximal life support measures and the best efforts of the clinical team, his condition deteriorated further and he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest,” Anuradha Baskaran, Assistant Director of Medical Services at MGM Healthcare in Chennai, southeastern India, said in a statement.

Baskaran added that she was delivering the news “with profound grief.” His death comes as India marks over 92,000 deaths — the third most in the world after Brazil and the US.

Fans mourned the loss of the music icon, who recorded the songs mouthed by actors in famous romantic Bollywood films: “He made the ’90s kids fall in love with the idea of love,” a News18 column noted.

India’s Prime Minister also issued a statement on the singer’s passing, invoking the peace prayer “Om Shanti.”

Others chimed in with their remembrances.