The characters played by Balasubrahmanyam have been time tested, with great memory value because they were few and far between.
Kathiresan, a police officer, returns home and sees Prabhu, her son, sitting with a notebook in deep pain. When his efforts to figure out what’s wrong meet the defensive “it’s personal!” Kathiresan decides to buy two beers. Because he is not the conventional father, he softly sings ‘Gnayiru Enbathu Kannaaga’, the haunting melody of Kaakum Karangal (1965), causing 21-year-old Prabhu Deva, who plays Prabhu, to collapse crying on SP Balasubrahmanyam’s lap as Kathiresan. Finally, Prabhu, the young man from a middle-class family, admits that he is in love with Shruti (Nagma), the governor’s daughter. Instead of admonishing your child, you encourage him by telling him that love conquers all.
Now, who would not admire such a father? This evergreen scene is from the movie. Kadhalan (1994), directed by Shankar. It gives the man who has been known to the public as a star singer the opportunity to show his talent as an actor. Throughout his decades-long career, singer SP Balasubrahmanyam juggled multiple roles, including acting. In Tamil cinema, in particular, he acted in about 30 films.
Since Keladi kanmani to Sigaram to Kadhalan to Minsaara kanavu, SPB was very typecast in the role of father. However, he was able to bring something unique to each of his performances while retaining the premise of a loving and understanding father. In the rare films in which he did not play the father, SP Balasubrahmanyam gave some short and memorable roles and cameos: Nandhini, Thiruda Thiruda, Avvai Shanmughi.
The characters played by Balasubrahmanyam have been time-tested and have great memory value. This is because Balasubrahmanyam was primarily a singer and did not focus on acting. This meant that seeing it on screen was a precious pleasure for audiences in the 1990s and 2000s; viewers might exclaim ‘hey that’s SPB!’ and not seeing it in any other movie for a while, until the next one comes along.
Although he was reportedly invited by many prominent filmmakers to play various roles, Balasubrahmanyam turned them down, stating that his first love was music.
A look at some of his acting performances:
Manathil Urudhi Veendum (1987)
The story of the film revolves around Nandhini (Suhasini), an independent woman who works as a nurse in a hospital run by Dr. Arthanari (Balasubramanyam). She has to help a family of six siblings and their parents.
Balasubrahmanyam plays the role of his mentor and doctor in the film. He dedicates his life to being a doctor and decides not to marry. However, he makes up a story that he has a wife in his hometown. Just a few minutes before the climax, he reveals to his apprentice who he considers a younger sister who is not married and tells her about his ambitions.
The role of SPB is that of a jovial doctor, but the twists and turns of the character also call for smart acting. His dialogues are a mixture of humor and philosophy and he dominates both.
Keladi Kanmani (1990)
This was SPB’s first major film in Tamil cinema and continues to be remembered for its acting and singing, including the iconic ‘Mannil Indha Kadhal Indri’ song. From a single father trying to navigate love after being widowed to being a caretaker for a sick adult daughter (Anju), SPB’s performance throughout the film leaves us with foggy eyes.
Unlike the lighthearted and clichéd rom-coms of the time, Director Vasanth’s first film showed two adults (Radikaa and SPB) in a romantic relationship, coming to terms with love, loss, and the challenges that arise from their difficult personal situations. Balasubramanyam had the opportunity to play a layered emotional character even in the early days of his acting career.
SPB dutifully plays the role of a father who would give up his own wishes for the sake of his beloved daughter. The climax of the film, where the daughter is able to reconcile her actions as a child, is sure to leave fans in tears at all times.
The unconventional film was also a box office success, running 285 days in theaters. The film was also released in Telugu as O Papa Lali.
Thiruda Thiruda (1993)
This Mani Ratnam film remains one of SPB’s standout performances. Just one long scene was enough to establish Thiruda Thiruda as a quick-thinking CBI officer in the movie. Lakshmi Narayanan (Balasubrahmanyam) enters a building with her fellow officers. She discusses the details of her case and enters the room where a defendant (Ajay Ratnam) has been kept. SPB takes his time and reveals how much he already knows, and plays the character with authority, a departure from his usual fatherly roles.
You question decisively while posing as a clumsy and sincere officer showing your ID card to everyone you want to talk to about your case. Bypassing the law as a government official, the SPB actor takes on a challenging role as an investigator who has to find 10 billion rupees in 10 days.
SP Balasubrahmanyam was really credible as a CBI officer and lived up to the hype until the very end.
Avvai Shanmughi (1996)
This Kamal Haasan film is one of the first that audiences can remember when thinking about SPB’s acting career, even though it only makes a brief cameo. Inspired by the Hollywood movie Ms. Doubtfire, Avvai Shanmughi It is an uproar of laughter from Kamal, KS Ravikumar and Crazy Mohan.
When Kamal tries to become part of his father-in-law Vishwanathan’s house as a babysitter to be close to his daughter, he saves her from an accident with a firecracker. Kamal, like Avvai Shanmughi, throws her daughter into a pool to protect herself from burns. Patriarch Vishwanathan scolds her for not wrapping her in a jute sack to put out the burns. This is where SPB comes in, as a family doctor.
In a short scene, elevated to comedy gold by Crazy Mohan’s witty lines, Sethuraman Iyer (Delhi Ganesh) tries to explain to the doctor what the emergency is. SPB interrupts every attempt with a possible explanation even before Sethuraman can finish. His role, as the man who ends up giving the last stamp of approval to hire Avvai Shanmughi is memorable.
Priyamaanavale (2000)
Vishwanathan (SPB) is a father who wants his son to lead a normal married life, but his son (Vijay) does not believe in marriage. SP Balasubramanyam plays the role of a businessman who wants the best for his son. Lover of his assistant Priya (Simran), he tries to convince her to marry his son who is against, unless it is a “one year contract”.
Priya accepts the marriage due to various family problems. However, after a year, they lead separate lives under the contract. SPB’s role in the film is to play a father who disagrees with her son’s beliefs, but still wants to make her a better person. SPB remains an anchor throughout the film and his role changes from being a happy father immediately after marriage to a disapproving father once his son decides to divorce Priya with an emotional father when Priya points out her son’s mistakes.
SPB was the perfect choice to handle the multiple layers of the film. With strong acting skills and charisma, SPB makes audiences laugh and cry.
Apart from these, the legendary singer has also acted in films such as Palaivana Ragangal, Thiyagu, Sigaram, Gunaa, Thalaivasal, Kadhal Desam, Ullaasam, Ratchagan, Bharathan Y April Maadhathil in Tamil.
While fans adored him for his music, many also admired his acting skills. The singer’s disappearance on Friday also means that audiences will never again see the cool, familiar face on screen and exclaim, ‘Ah, there he is SPB!’
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