CHENNAI: S P Balasubrahmanyam’s singing and songs transcend boundaries. Though it was mostly Telugu songs that were performed, the centenary auditorium at the Madras University was packed on Saturday evening.
People of all ages were present in the audience, enjoying the songs sung by SPB himself or his songs performed by the other playback singers for Swarabhishekam – a musical extravaganza over the weekend. Telugu solo hits of SPB such as Antha Ramamayam from the film Sri Ramadasu and duets such as Kammani ee Premalekha from Guna and Edalo Tholi Velape, were performed by the singer. Children dancing and the older audience nodding their heads and tapping their feet to the rhythm were consistent throughout the show, which had no noticeable dull moments.
Although mainly a show for Telugu fans, the Tamil audience was not disappointed. A few Tamil songs such as Unakkenna Mele Nindrai – one of the singer’s hit songs – were performed. The song had perhaps been performed by the singer several times on stage before, but it still brought on a standing ovation from some members in the crowd. One of them was overheard saying, “This is an M S Viswanathan composition and he was very young when he actually sung in the film. Look at how he reproduces it now, even in his 60s.”
If Unakkenna Mele Nindrai received applause from the audience after the performance, claps for the mere mention of the film Sagara Sangamam (Salangai Oli in Tamil) ensued. And SPB sang Thakita Thadimi Thakita Thadimi Thandaana, which particularly pleased the older members of the audience, during whose time the film and the song were popular.
Besides his performance, there were also songs rendered by playback singer Karthik who sang the Telugu version of the song Aye Sinamika from Ok Kanmani (OK Bangaram in Telugu) that went Hey Anamika. He also sang the Tamil version of the song. Another noteworthy performance of his was Nee Maatalo Mounam from the film 180, which again has a Tamil equivalent – Nee Korinaal from the same film. The Tamil-speaking fans enjoyed this even more, because they could sing along.
Other popular Telugu songs were rendered by playback singers such as Geetha Madhuri, Gopika Purnima, Hemachandra, Kalpana, Malavika and Mallikarjun. An appreciated performance of A R Rahman’s Alaipayudhey, in Telugu again, was delivered by Kalpana and Gopika Purnima.