SPB-Ilaiyaraaja jugalbandi: Of loyalty, royalty & the spat

A few hours after it emerged that S P Balasubrahmanyam had wheeled into the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of a hospital here on August 14 following deterioration in his health, an emotional Ilaiyaraaja fighting back his tears asked his friend of over five decades to “come back” soon.

The short video vividly captured the enduring friendship that the legends, who complemented each other, shared in their long journey in the Indian film industry. Even as he choked, Ilaiyaraaja said they had always remained friends even though they had fought in the past and almost begged Balu, as he addressed the legendary playback singer, to bounce back.

Whether Balu got a chance to watch the video is not known, but millions of fans, who were mesmerised by the duo’s brilliant chemistry, smiled at the display of the emotional bonding between the two even as they had prayers on their lips for the speedy recovery of the singer. But fate had other plans.

Their 50-year-old friendship hit a raw nerve in 2017 when Ilaiyaraaja’s firm sent a legal notice to several singers, including Balasubrahmanyam, not to sing his songs at events without paying royalty. An upset Balasubrahmanyam skipped songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja in his stage performances, but the animosity did not last too long.

The duo buried their hatchet in 2019 and came together to perform on the stage again – Ilaiyaraaja posted a picture of him hugging his friend Baalu on May 27, 2019. And the video that Ilaiyaraaja’s publicist released on August 14 reinforced the love that the two legends had for the other.

“Balu, come back fast. I am waiting for you. Neither our lives began in cinema nor it will end with cinema. The music that we started together in stage events has become our life and an important foundation,” the music director had said, trying to control his emotions.

The sordid episode in SPB-Ilaiyaraaja friendship began on March 18, 2017, when the singer took to his verified Facebook page to announce that he will not be performing songs he sung for Ilaiyaraaja during his stage performances, citing the legal notice from the composer’s side.

SPB’s statement created ripples with the majority saying that Ilaiyaraaja’s songs belonged to “humanity” and even the composer cannot claim rights to them.

“I was aware that he held the rights but Ilaiyaraaja never had asked for his nod earlier. Well-wishers suggested that I should talk to him and settle the matter. But I could not digest the notice served by a dear friend of 50 years,” Balu said in a TV talk show in 2017.

The reason for the feud is said to be another music tour planned at the same time in the US by Ilaiyaraaja in which he wanted SPB’s participation. Because of his prior commitments, SPB stated his unavailability. “If it was an issue it should have been settled between us; there was no need to let the world know. The episode was a scar in my musical journey,” Balu had said hoping that the issue would find a solution soon.

In the same show, Balu venerated Ilaiyaraaja as a genius proudly stating that he sang about three fourths of all the virtuoso’s songs. And yes, as Ilaiyaraaja said in the video, their friendship remained the same even when they fought.