“SINGING IS AN ART WHICH TRANSCENDS LANGUAGE AND HENCE THERE IS NO NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED ''. The “Tere Mere Beech Mein” Man and the Singing Computer S.P. BALASUBRAMANIAM tells JYOTHI VENKATESH 40 years ago

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By Team Bollyy
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“SINGING IS AN ART WHICH TRANSCENDS LANGUAGE AND HENCE THERE IS NO NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED ''. The “Tere Mere Beech Mein” Man and the Singing Computer S.P. BALASUBRAMANIAM tells JYOTHI VENKATESH 40 years ago

With his very first number in Hindi-Tere Mere Beech Mein from EK DUUJE KE LIYE, Kamal Hassan’s ghost voice S.P. Balasubramaniam arrived in Bombay - Jyothi Venkatesh

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S.P. B or Balu as he is affectionately known among friends down South is a common fixture these days at parties hosted by South Indian producers at the Sun N Sand or the Palm Grove. It actually means that he is very much in circulation in film circles in Mumbai too.

Balu is happy at the reception he has been accorded in Mumbai. ”Nobody grudges my having come here in spite of my being a Southie”, he says. Balu, since his debut with EK DUUJE KE LIYE last year, has sung for R.D. Burman, Bappi Lahiri and Laxmikant-Pyarelal, who seem to have recorded most of the songs which he has sung during the past one year.

“Fortunately or unfortunately most of the producers who are calling me now to sing for their films happen to be South Indians, though their movies are in Hindi. Singing is an art which transcends language. I want to prove this by singing in every Indian language.”

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Balu is the No 1 playback singer down South. In fact producers there call him the singing computer. He sings an average of five songs a day. “My dates are procured by the producers here 25 days in advance. When a Mumbai assignment materializes, my producers in Chennai gladly oblige me and adjust their schedules to let me go to Mumbai to do my Hindi recording.

If the producer is not able to spare me, I stick to my commitment. I do not leave him in the lurch just because I am ambitious. Commitment gets top priority as far as I am concerned.”

Not many are aware of the fact that Balu is also an accomplished music composer, having composed music for a few Telugu films. “Singing is my profession. I do not want to take up a career as a music director, at least not at this stage.

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I compose only because it pleases and satisfies me. I see to it that my work as a singer isn’t affected because of my music director status. I see that I give my call sheets (dates) as and when I am required by the music directors in Chennai, like Ilayaraja, Vishwanathan, Shankar Ganesh etc. I would hate to have my music directors think of me as a competitor.”

No wonder Balu takes up cudgels’ on behalf of the poorly paid music directors down South, unlike in Bombay, where the Musicians Union comprises singers, musicians etc with one President and one secretary.

Though in terms of quality the music director in Chennai is second to none, he gets only one fifth of what his Mumbai counterpart is paid. The producers who gladly pay a superstar whatever he or she demands, grumble when it comes to paying their music directors in the South.

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The amount spent in recording a song is a very paltry one in Chennai as when you compare how lavishly they record a song in Mumbai.”

Still Balu has no regrets. “I am happy with whatever little I have achieved down South. I made my debut as a playback singer way back in 1969 with MGR’s ARASA KATTALAI with the song Aayiram Nilave Vaa.”

Balu doesn’t agree that his arrival has displaced Yesudas from the scene. “I do not think Yesudas has suffered on account of my arrival in Bombay. He continues to get the songs which he alone can sing while I continue to get those songs which suit me. Everyone has to go through different phases in their careers.

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Nor have I displaced a veteran singer like T.M.Soundararajan. He had his innings even before I arrived. If he doesn’t sing many songs these days the reason is that the producers prefer to assign the job of singing songs for Kamal Hassan or Rajanikant to a younger singer like me, while TMS is called only to sing for Sivaji Ganesan. As Simple as that.”

It was Balu who composed the background music for Surinder Kapoor’s HUM PAANCH. “Lakshmikant and Pyarelal were so busy and so I was asked to compose the background music. When they did the Telugu remake of PADOSAN, I did the role which Kishore Kumar did in PADOSAN.

Whenever I get time, I make it a point to dub for most of the Tamil films which are dubbed in Telugu. I have a knack of matching Kamal’s voice in Telugu. I dubbed for Kamal in Telugu in TIK TIK TIK and KADAL MEENGAL. I do not accept a penny for my work as a dubbing artist.”

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Saying No is the biggest problem Balu faces these days. “People are very possessive down South. The producers of dubbed films won’t take ‘No’ for an answer if I refuse to sing for dubbed films.

Besides, how can I say no to the very same producers who encouraged me years ago when I needed a break in Hindi by assigning me the job of singing for Hindi dubbing films? However, I don’t sing more than two songs per dubbing film.”

Balu is confident of making it big in Mumbai, because as he says, the old order is changing and new singers are given a warm welcome, if they are talented. And no one can deny that Balu is as talented as they come.

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