Ramesh Aravind: SPB was a rare combination of great talent and humility

"One of the gentlest but most magnificent notes in music is lost forever, but will remain forever. Great loss. I treasure every interaction with the legend SP Balasubrahmanyam," Ramesh Aravind wrote on social media and expressed his condolences. Later, speaking to Cinema Express, Ramesh said, "In cinema, you will get many talented people every ten feet, but to get talent with humility is rare, and SPB was the epitome of that. No matter where you met him, you got positive vibes from him."

He added, "On one side was his enormous unchallenged talent, but it was the goodness that struck you. It is a rare combination and that's what set him apart from the rest."

Ramesh wanted SPB to sing a song for his latest directorial, 100. "I called him a month-and-a-half ago and he asked me to send him the tunes. After listening to it, he sent me a voice note explaining that the tune is in a high pitch, which was out of his natural range, so he suggested another singer's name. He told me it wasn't that he couldn't do it, but felt there would be some artificiality to it. He has sung around 41,000 songs and yet he had the humility to say this. It's a rare quality in such an accomplished person. I sent him a message saying, 'You refresh my love for you'."

Ramesh's favourite song of his has always been En Kadhale from the film Duet. "It was in AR Rahman's music, and for one of the most emotional sequences I have done on screen. In Kannada, all the songs from Amrutha Varshini are very special."

Ramesh has had the opportunity to share the screen with the legend as well. "SPB and I have acted together in Tamil and given silver jubilee hits together. He would always add emotion to a scene, and it would be challenging to match it. SPB would play small pranks in between songs."

He added, "He was also a part of my show - Weekend with Ramesh. I remember the last question I asked him - 'How is your life?' And he said, 'When I started, who knew that I would get so many laurels? I am happy to say goodbye right here. There is no greater moment.'"