Over his five-decade-long career in music, SPB — as he is known to fans and contemporaries alike — has appeared in several television programmes. He has even hosted reality television shows, egging on young talents who wished to pursue music. In Tamil, SPB has hosted Ennodu Paatu Paadungal on Jaya TV, Vaanampaadi on Kalaignar TV and appeared as a judge on Vijay TV’s Super Singer.
In Telugu, the singer has been part of the popular Padutha Theeyaga show on ETV Telugu, as well as Padalani Undi on Maa TV. He also appeared frequently on ET Telugu’s Swarabhishekam.
He was also associated with Edhe Thumbi Haaduvenu, another music show in Kannada which started in 2008 and the last edition was in 2018, with a total of three seasons filmed.
In one interview with The Hindu in January 2010, SP Balasubrahmanyam reflected on his personal style in these music competition programmes and remarked, “It’s a two-way medium. While I impart my knowledge to youngsters, I also learn so much from them. Some have fabulous voices and amazing classical training. Why should I run them down? I tell the participants that winning isn’t all. And that not all who make it can become sensational singers overnight. Our job is to give them direction and polish their skill. Reality shows are not the ultimate test of one’s talent. Sometimes, children who perform well at rehearsals, fail in the finals. They are not used to overpowering lights and a live audience. I crack jokes, relate anecdotes and lighten the mood. I tell them it’s like an antakshari played at a family get-together.”
Watch some memorable moments from SPB’s television appearances:
Super Singer Junior, a popular TV show where kids competed against one another for the title, often had SPB as a guest. After a rendition of the melancholic Kadhal Rojave song from Roja by one participant, SPB encourages young singers to not be afraid of improvising where they see fit. Demonstrating one such improvisation with KS Chitra, he said, “Really, live show has to be enjoyed.”
Another snippet from the same show witnessed wonderful moments where SPB, along with fellow singers, Mano and KS Chitra, is seen bantering. One young participant hilariously reproduces dialogues preceding the unforgettable Mannil Indha Kaadhal song. The song from the iconic movie Keladi Kanmani is one where he sings breathlessly. SPB, in a lighter vein, asks Mano to try singing the same song and says, “Try pannu da dai.”
SPB often had encouraging advice to youngsters, asking them to impart the necessary tone required for various songs. In one Ennodu Paatu Paadungal episode, the singer agrees with guest director Mano Bala who remarks that one must sing a peppy song with swing.
Paadutha Theeyaga, a Telugu singing contest show hosted by SPB, often had prominent music composers, singers and lyricists from the Telugu film industry as guest judges. In one of the episodes where Sirivennela Seetharama Sastry was the guest judge, a contestant sang Jaamu Rathiri from Kshana Kshanam.
The song, which Venkatesh sings in the film to put Sreedevi to sleep as they halt in a forest at night, was originally sung by SPB and Chitra, and written by Sirivennela. SPB, in his usual style, relates a story about Sirivennela’s role in the song, speaking very highly of the poet while also pulling his leg. Sirivennela then talks about how, in popular imagination, a lullaby is sung by the mother, but SPB’s voice has the tenderness which is ideal for a father’s lullaby.
Watch: (starts from 5:55)
Swarabhishekam is another Telugu show on ETV where he often sang his own film songs, and often ended with small anecdotes about the song. In this episode, right after singing O Papa Laali from Geethanjali, he talks about his fondness for Ilaiyaraaja. He says he would feel delighted every time he saw his name on top of the music score sheet in Ilaiyaraaja’s handwriting. When asked about the immense number of songs on which they’ve worked together, he says, “I was born for him, and he for me … We must have been brothers in another life.”
Watch: (starts from 8:43)
Kannada show Yede Thumbi Haaduvenu, hosted by SPB started in 2008 and ran till 2018, with a total of three seasons.
Source: TheNewsMinute.com