New Delhi: Popular Tamil playback singer Bamba Bakya, known for having sung several chartbusters, passed away on Thursday night. He was 49.
According to various reports, the singer, who has rendered several hit songs including the opening lines of the recently released ‘Ponni Nadhi’ from Mani Ratnam’s upcoming magnum opus ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, passed away after suffering a cardiac arrest.
While Bakya is his original name, the singer was referred to as Bamba Bakya as AR Rahman asked him to sing like South African singer Bamba for Pullinangal, and thus people started referring to him as Bamba Bakya.
Before rendering film songs, Bamba Bakya was known for rendering devotional numbers.
Some of the songs that the singer is known for include ‘Pullinangal’ from Rajinikanth-starrer ‘2.0’ and ‘Simtangaran’ from Vijay-starrer ‘Sarkar’ and Kalame Kalame from Bigil. His song, Raati, from his album received a lot of appreciation from music lovers.
His last project was the song Ponni Nadhi from AR Rahman’s Ponniyin Selvan. Bamba Bhakya frequently worked with AR Rahman who was the one to identify Bakya’s talent.
Several celebrities, including Karthi, Santhosh Dayanidhi, AR Rahman’s daughter Khatija took to Twitter to condole the death of Bamba Bakya.
Actor Karthi tweeted: “Really saddened by the sudden demise of Bamba Bakiya. I pray that his family and friends have the strength to bear this huge loss.”
Actor Shanthanoo Baghyaraj too expressed his condolences on Twitter. He tweeted: “Loved his voice. Gone too soon.”
Lyricist Vivek wrote, “It’s shocking. A great singer is no more. Pullinangal will always resonate in our ears. Working with him in Kaalame n Simtangaran is a special experience. My thought goes out to his family and @arrahman sir (sic).”
AR Rahman’s daughter Khatija wrote, “Rest in peace brother. Can’t believe you’ve passed away. Such a wonderful person and musician (sic).”
(With inputs from IANS)