A file photo of S P Balasubrahmanyam. (courtesy: SPB )

Chennai:

Veteran singer S P Balasubrahmanyam, who is currently being treated for COVID-19 at a Chennai hospital, is “fully awake and responsive” and is even “actively participating in physiotherapy,” according to the medical staff at the MGM hospital. The singer, 74, was admitted to Chennai’s MGM Healthcare hospital on August 5 after he tested positive for the virus. S P Balasubrahmanyam had mild symptoms when he was taken to hospital this month. However, he was later moved to the Intensive Care Unit or ICU and placed on life support when his condition worsened. Meanwhile, S P Balasubrahmanyam’s son S P Charan has actively been sharing updates about the singer’s health on his Instagram account.

S P Balasubrahmanyam ,who was taken to hospital on August 5, had earlier shared a video on Facebook saying that he was “perfectly fine” and that he was expected to be discharged in two days. He said in the video, “Last two to three days, I have been having a little discomfort. Discomfort means little chest congestion, which for a singer is nonsense. Had cold and on and off fever. These three things, otherwise no problem. But I didn’t want to take it easy, so I went to the hospital and checked. They said it was just a mild, very mild case of corona.” SPB added, “Nobody has to worry about this one. So please don’t bother to call me to find out how I am. I am perfectly alright except the cold and fever. Fever has also subsided.”

S P Balasubrahmanyam’s impressive body of work comprises over 40,000 songs in 16 languages. The singer, who is a winner of six National Awards, has collaborated with music composers such as Ilaiyaraaja and Oscar-winning A R Rahman. Earlier, AR Rahman shared a post on Twitter, in which he prayed for the singer’s speedy recovery. Besides being a singer, S P Balasubrahmanyam is also an actor, a producer and a voice actor. Mr Balasubrahmanyam is also a recipient of the Padma Shri as well as the Padma Bhushan.