Southern cinema mourns death of P B Srinvas

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and other leaders on Sunday condoled the death of veteran playback singer P B Srinivas in Chennai.

Expressing grief over the demise of Srinivas, popularly known as PBS, Reddy recalled the immense contribution the 82-year-old had made to the field of music. Srinivas, a native of East Godavari district in coastal Andhra Pradesh, passed away at his Chennai residence on Sunday following brief illness. He is survived by two sons and daughter. Recalling the veteran known for his mellifluous voice, YSR Congress Party honorary president Y S Vijayamma said the departed singer was a multi-faceted personality who had good knowledge of Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit, English and also Urdu, besides he penned ghazals in Urdu and poems in English. Endowed with a gifted voice, he left an indelible impression on music lovers, she said. Prativadi Bhayankara Srinivas, commonly known as Srinivas, began his career in 1955 and sung his last song for Tamil film 'Ayirathil Oruvan' in 2010. 

In a career spanning about six decades, he lent his voice to several superstars including Rajkumar in Kannada and Tamil veteran Gemini Ganesan. In Telugu, he sang many songs for late Kanta Rao. He sung with all leading playback singers like P Suseela, S Janaki, Bhanumathi, Jamuna Rani, L R Eswari and also Lata Mangeshkar. His devotional songs include 'Mallikarjuna Suprabhatam' and 'Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam' among others. 

Kannada film industry condoles death of PBS

The Kannada film fraternity mourned the passing away of veteran playback singer P B Srinivas with artistes saying his lilting voice will be remembered forever. The veteran multi-lingual singer who lent his melodious voice to several super hit Kannada films including Gandhada Gudi and Yeradu Kanasu, in which Kannada thespian late Dr Rajkumar played the lead, will remain evergreen in our hearts felt the film fraternity.

For 78-year-old Rajan, the famous music director of these films, Srinivas can never die. His lilting voice will reverberate in our hearts forever. He was a very good singer who really knew music. A linguist, he could sing Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malyalam film songs with a crystal clear diction, Rajan said.

 A popular comedian who later turned to character roles and film direction, Dwarkeesh fondly remembers Srinivas as a very diligent singer who used to be punctual at his rehearsals.

Srinivas, who has sung for many of my films and was an indispensable voice for Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malyalam films in the late sixties, was very down to earth and simple, with no airs of a star singer, he said. He passed away in Chennai today following brief illness.

Popularly known as PBS, the veteran singer lent his voice in all four South Indian languages besides Hindi. The ruling BJP in Karnataka mourned the death of the veteran singer, a release issued by the party's media-cell in Bangalore said. 

Jayalalitha expresses grief

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa expressed grief over Srinivas' death. Conveying her condolences to the bereaved family, she said he had sung in 12 languages and recalled he had bagged various state government awards. Its a god-given boon that PBS also means playback singer. He was a simple and affable person and his loss is not an irreparable loss for the film and music industry but to me also at a personal level. None can fill his place, she said in a statement. Expressing shock and grief over the death, Governor K Rosaiah said Srinivas had enthralled music lovers with his melodious voice. He was a veteran playback singer in more than five languages, Rosaih said, adding, his death has left a void in the film world.

-Agencies