Legendary Singer S P Balasubrahmanyam in extremely critical condition

Highlights: The singer is currently admitted to Chennai's MGM Healthcare hospital The 74-year-old singer no longer has the coronavirus He tested negative on September 8 Singer S P Balasubrahmanyam is on maximum life support after his condition deteriorated in the last 24 hours, Chennai's MGM Healthcare hospital said in a medical bulletin on Thursday. The singer's close friend, actor Kamal Haasan, visited the hospital on Thursday night. SPB, as the singer is fondly called, has been in hospital since August 5 after testing positive for COVID-19. The 74-year-old singer no longer has the coronavirus and he tested negative on September 8. However, he could not be taken off the ventilator because of the condition of his lungs. On September 19, SPB's son Charan in a video message said his father remains stable and that all his parameters are normal and there is no infection. Charan added: "There is still some improvement needed in his lungs and his breathing and his strength. He is doing physio. He is able to sit up. The doctors are helping him sit up for a while..around 15 to 20 mins almost every other day." SP Balasubrahmanyam has sung songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi and Malayalam movies. In fact, he has recorded over 40,000 songs in 16 Indian languages reportedly. The singer has been showered with several awards and honours in his illustrious singing career. In Bollywood, he shot to fame with his songs in "Ek Duuje Ke Liye". In the nineties, he was popular as Salman Khan's voice, having belted out several hits in films such as "Maine Pyar Kiya", Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!", Hum Saath-Saath Hain", and "Patthar Ke Phool", among many others. Celebrities and fans across the globe including Ilaiyaraaja, Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, AR Rahman have been praying for the speedy recovery of the singer.