NEW DELHI, June 1 — Star Bollywood singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, died of a heart attack at age 53 after a concert Tuesday, Indian media reported, prompting a flood of tributes from fans including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“His songs reflected a wide range of emotions as struck a chord with people of all age groups,” Modi said on Twitter.
“We will always remember him through his songs. Condolences to his family and fans,” Modi wrote.
KK felt unwell while performing at a concert in Kolkata, according to the Times of India and other local media.
He was rushed to the hospital from his hotel around 10:30pm local time, where doctors pronounced him dead, the newspaper reported.
Born in Delhi, the versatile singer recorded songs in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali, among other languages.
KK’s hits from the 2000s included Dola Re Dola from the movie Devdas and Khuda Jaane from Bachna Ae Haseeno. As a playback singer, his songs were dubbed over films, with the actors lip-synching along.
Fans took to KK’s Instagram page to pay their respects, where a photo of KK singing in front of a roaring crowd posted earlier in the day was accompanied with the caption “Pulsating gig tonight at Nazrul Mancha ... Love you all.” “Rest in peace legend, you will be always in our heart,” wrote one user.
“You’re gone too soon!!!!!!” commented another. — AFP
