Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam
(popularly called SPB or SP Balu), born on June 4, 1946, is a legendary singer
of South Indian Cinema (Telugu and Tamil, especially). SPB is, however, a truly national singer
having sung over 40,000 songs (a Guinness Book record) in various Indian
languages including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese, Hindi
and Sanskrit. He is also the only singer to have received four national awards
for his songs in four different languages. He won the National Film Award from
the Government of India six times and Nandi Film Award from the Government of
Award twenty five times. He is the recipient of high civilian honours from the
Government of India; Padma Shri in 2001 and Padma Bhushan in 2011. SPB is truly
multifaceted with additional capabilities as music director, dubbing artiste
(including for superstars such as Kamal Hassan and Rajinikanth), film maker,
movie actor, and television artiste. He is fondly referred to as Gana Gandharva
by connoisseurs of music.
SPB is probably the only singer whose voice
powered the superstars of Indian Cinema from the 1960s to date. His voice
moulded itself mellifluously and perfectly to diverse stars such as M G
Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, N T Rama Rao, A Nageswara Rao,
Krishna, Sobhan Babu, Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Nagarjuna, Ajith and Vijay (just
to quote a few names) as well as a host of new age actors. The way he sang (and
would still sing) for each of the actors showed amazing versatility besides
imbuing the songs with the vocal expressions and intonations unique to each
actor. He was comfortable in songs of all genres; be it of the purest religious
serenity or the wildest romantic sensuality. His voice rendered songs of
heart-touching pathos as well as rib-tickling comedy, with equal felicity.
While there have been great male singing legends in India – Saigal, Rafi,
Kishore, Mukesh, Talat, Ghantasala, Sreenivas, Soundararajan, Hariharan and
Shankar – no one had, and has, his ability to express the Bhava with feel in
songs.
Tide of music
Another unique feature of his versatility is
his constant reinvention of voice to scale new highs in melody and purity. His
rendering of classical songs in Sankarabharanam catapulted him to international
fame while his rendering of devotional songs in Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu got
him new accolades as the King of Bhakti and Bhava. Although never trained in
classical music, SPB has an amazing grasp of the Sapta Swaras. All of his
romantic songs in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada have a natural and spontaneous
verve and vibrancy, unmatched by any other singer. His Hindi songs for Kamal
Hassan in Ek Duje Ke Liye and his songs for Salman Khan (Maine Pyar Kiya and Hum
Aapke Hain Kaun, for example) provided a unique velvety feel to the Hindi
romantic movies. Age could do nothing to reduce the quality of his voice. Yet, unfortunately,
his voice is no longer heard in recent generation film songs. What started as a
specific mission by A R Rahman to bring new voices to the screen became a trend
to hire any and every instrumentalist as a music director and field any and
every voice as a singer, to the detriment of quality and melody. Changing
trends in music that drifted towards youthful banality, rhythmic excitement and
non-nativity also led to erosion of melody oriented musical mountings.
In addition to the above, a package system by
which a music director is paid a consolidated amount to cover the total cost of
music including costs of music composition, musicians, orchestra, recording
studio and singers has led to music directors economizing by deploying low cost
new singers instead of high cost established singers like SPB. With young as
well as aging heroes seeking freshness through new voices even at the cost of clarity
of expression, established singers like SPB and K J Yesudas, another incomparable
masterly singer, were becoming incompatible with the new film music ecosystem.
SPB also became outspoken against the disturbing trends in film music including
loss of melody and import of non-native singers unmindful of linguistic errors.
As a result, as opposed to yesteryears when a music disk was full of SPB songs,
one would be lucky to see SPB on any music album. All this has not deterred SPB
from remaining as a leader in contemporary singing. SPB, the Superstar of Sapta
Swaras, offers seven valuable lessons to young and old alike as to how a leader
can always be a leader.
Professional passion
The fundamental foundation of any leadership
development is passion for a profession. The roots one develops in a profession
determine the core competencies of a leader. It is said that as a first year
student of College of Engineering at Anantapur, SPB’s passion was displayed in
constant singing. Although he had to move to Madras to pursue the alternative
of AMIE, the passion for music never ebbed in him; from being a singing lead in
IliayaRaja and Gangai Amaran music band to calling on music directors until the
entry success, SPB’s passion to make a career in singing was unflinching. This
commitment is the foundation for all successful professionals. Youngsters would
do well to be passionate about their interests. Being passionate needs, of
course, to be supplemented by being expressive and executive.
Maximal accomplishment
Just as time waits for no one,
accomplishments do not wait for time. When one can achieve one must. SPB never got
deterred by the attributed inadequacies of young age such as nascent and light
voice nor the competition induced by others. He chose to drive home each
advantage provided by his linguistic capabilities, voice modulation and
emotional expression to keep singing. He is said to hold the record for
recording as many as nineteen songs in a day and working for minimum of twelve
hours at a stretch. It is said that in his heydays recording of twelve to
sixteen songs per day was the norm. By lending his voice to all actors and for
all situations and with all music directors, including maestros and stalwarts like
M S Viswanathan, K V Mahadevan, Pendyala Nageswara Rao, S Rajeswara Rao, Rajan-Nagendra,
Satyam, Keeravani, Ilaiyaraaja, A R Rahman, Lakshmikant-Pyarelal and Anand-Milind
he has not only achieved maximal
singing, in both quantity and quality, but created for himself a rich music
bank which can inspire others.
Continuous learning
While a young Rafi and a young Mukesh were
probably the same in their respective range and depth at the beginning and end
of careers, SPB kept on learning and improvising. He demonstrated exceptional
grit to learn informally what he did not get trained in formally (like
classical music) and to get mentored by music composers of exceptional
standing. As a result, the voice of Balu continued to feel fresh and unique
each year. An essential feature of leadership development is learning not only through
experience but also through scaling new heights and willing to be mentored. Interestingly,
even the best tend to pause at some point(s) in their carriers. He observed and
absorbed (and remembers and recounts) each and every musical episode of his
life thus becoming a living encyclopaedia of Indian music. If only SPB was
willing to apply his continuous learning methodology to the new genre of music,
he would have probably continued to offer meaningful additions for music lovers
and even reformed the cacophony of the new generation music.
Self- mentoring
Over the last few years, mentoring has come
to be seen as distinct from performance, and in fact as the prerequisite for
leadership. Not all can have the advantage of being gifted or provided with
mentors; self-mentoring is an effective pathway. SPB’s competitive spirit took
him to music competitions where his talent was spotted by a select group of film
celebrities including S Janaki, an accomplished singer and S P Kodandapani a
versatile music director. The latter gave SPB the first break in film songs and
continued to mentor in a creative and caring manner in his formative years.
SPB, thereafter, developed himself through observation and experimentation. SPB
was the first choice for master directors like K Viswanath, K Balachandar, K
Raghavendra Rao and Bapu which gave repetitive opportunities for
out-of-the-world songs, which he fully leveraged. Youngsters have role models all around who are
not necessarily their teachers or students; self-mentoring through observation
is a viable approach.
Sowing the seeds
One must do something different when one is
fully busy and not when one has nothing else to do. This helps the individual
sow the seeds of a new wave of growth for the future whether or not the chips
are down for the person in later stage life. When SPB was at the peak of his
singing career in the 1990s, he collaborated with E-TV to launch the first
native singing talent show called Padutha Theeyaga in 1996. The pioneering show
in which SPB donned the role of both judge and mentor for all aspirant musical
talent, children, adolescents and adults, became a trendsetter and has
completed more than 500 episodes. Many participants and winners of the
programme went on to become ace singers in their own right. The seeds which SPB
had sown two decades ago has now given him a continuing platform to leverage
his musical knowledge and reputation to reformat Padutha Theeyaga and re-launch
it in different geographies including USA. It is amazing as to how kids who cannot
speak Telugu are able to sing the most complex Telugu songs with perfection in
the programme. The power of a programme launched when SPB was busy continues to
remain as his iconic mainstay in a generation of changing musical values!
Setting own standards
An important hallmark of leadership is
setting of standards. An aspirant leader in his or her formative years tries to
meet or exceed the standards set by other leaders in his or her field but
quickly goes about setting his or her own standards. SPB became a legend
because he set his own differentiated standards even from his very early times
when colossuses strode the musical scene. Even today, he is uncompromising in
his standards, correcting and coaching youngsters to make them follow the
correct Telugu diction, express the correct emotion and follow the correct
swara sangathulu, even though he is aware that they are born as Indian Americans!
A leader faces a dilemma when the standards expected by the environment become
lax. That is when the message of the supreme raga-bhava songs of the
yesteryears sung so powerfully by SPB in the musical masterpieces such as
Shankarabharanam (of K Viswanath – K V Mahadevan) and Annamayya (of K
Raghavendra Rao – M M Keeravani) teaches us the immortality of uncompromising
standards.
Staying relevant
Times change, leaderships mellow and legacies
remain. As SPB says in many a public forum he would continue to sing as long as
his human faculties permit and in the event the choice of rebirth is given to
him, he would like to be reborn as SPB regaling millions of listeners. He had
many avenues built through his artistic career to stay relevant; as an ace
singer, music composer, dubbing artiste, character actor and of course as a
lead singer (in the last case, even if more choosy than he was earlier). For a
leader to be missed and wanted, the leader must stay relevant through his or
her own creativity and passion, and not necessarily mimic others in an effort
to change with the times. SPB with his fresh and adaptive voice, evocative and
expressive emotion, versatile range and depth became relevant as a leader for
changing times, at all times. As the contemporary times globalized further, he
continued to be relevant and possibly busier than ever by discovering new young
talent through programmes such as Padutha Theeyaga, reconnecting with the
millions through programmes such as Swarabhishekam, reviving musical culture through
programmes such as America-lo Raga Sagarika and supporting charities through
live stage shows of music.
Legendary leadership
SPB on stage or in a show is not merely a musical
delight to experience; he is also a leader to appreciate and absorb the nuances
of leadership. The nuances of leadership are that knowledge must be reinforced
with erudition, achievement with humility, professional leadership with
emotional connect and core competencies with related adjacencies. Shows of arts
and sports as well as consummate artistic performance and scintillating
sportsmanship add thrill and joy to everyday lives. The sportsmen and artistes
make the world a better place to live in and make life a little more joyous and
a little less stressful. However, behind and leading to each event and each
legend there are lessons of management and leadership that also need to be
brought out, discussed and absorbed.
As the life of the prolific and melodious
singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, the king of swapta swaras with his multi-faceted
talent, demonstrates, legendary leadership is possible with seven principles.
These are (i) seeking excellence in chosen profession with passion, (ii)
accomplishing to the fullest potential to create a legacy, (iii) continuous
learning with changing times and mellowing age, (iv) self-mentoring alongside inspired
performance, (v) sowing the seeds for future even when busy, (vi) setting
increasingly high standards for oneself and others, and (vii) staying relevant
to times through creative rediscovery and perceptive connectivity. All music
lovers, including the author, would love SPB’s voice as melodious, vibrant,
versatile and energetic as ever but the author would still like to see the next
phase of artistic leadership in SPB that would make his inimitable talent to
reignite the music tracks of films of all genres in all languages, once again!
Posted by Dr CB Rao on June 6, 2015
3 comments:
Sir, I came to your blog through a referral for nice blogs on strategy, leadership, etc., and I stumbled upon this on my favorite singer, one more thing that I would like to add is, how easily he adjusts himself with new-age singers and make them comfortable. In a team environment, it is required as, usually there will be initial reluctance of a new comer to meet & gel with seniors. If the group seniors / experienced take time to gel with the juniors, the team can produce miracles.
Sir, Superb write up on SPB. You have immortalized SPB in your own way by highlighting all that is great about the singer . You have brought up his persona in its true form as only an ardent fan and admirer could do. SPB ,
amongst other things is also very fortunate to have admirers like you who not only understand the nuances of music but also appreciate the true spirit of the values attached to the art and talent of music. Long live SPB and long live the fan's love for such a great talent.
Superbly written and explained in greater detail about the great SPB, your blog deserves a standing ovation!
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