New Delhi (CNN) One of India's most renowned film singers, SP Balasubrahmanyam, has died following hospitalization for Covid-19 and weeks spent on life support, the hospital treating him said in a bulletin Friday. Balasubrahmanyam had been on life support since August 14 for severe Covid-19 pneumonia and was being closely monitored by health workers in a critical care unit, Anuradha Baskaran, Assistant Director of Medical Services at MGM Healthcare in Chennai, southeastern India, said in a statement. "In a further setback this morning, despite maximal life support measures and the best efforts of the clinical team, his condition deteriorated further and he suffered a cardio-respiratory arrest," Baskaran said. Balasubrahmanyam died just after 1 p.m. local time on Friday, Baskaran said, adding that she was announcing the news "with profound grief." A leading figure in Indian cinema, Balasubrahmanyam, known to fans simply as "SPB" or "Balu," has more than 1,000 credits as a playback singer -- a voice artist who records songs that are later mimed by actors in films -- in languages including Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, English, Bengali and Punjabi.

Source: CNN September 25, 2020 11:15 UTC