CHENNAI: The condition of singer SP Balasubrahmanyam who tested positive for COVID-19 early this month has turned critical.

"There has been a setback in the health of SP Balasubrahmanyam who had been admitted at MGM Healthcare for symptoms of COVID since 5 August.  In a late night development on 13 August, his condition deteriorated," said Dr Anuradha Baskaran, Assistant Director Medical Services, MGM Healthcare, Chennai.

"On the advice of the expert medical team attending to him, he has been moved to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and he is on life support and his condition remains critical," she said.

The 74-year-old is currently under the observation of a team of experts from critical care and his haemodynamic and clinical parameters are being closely monitored.

Balasubrahmanyam was awarded the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2011. He is a six-time winner of the National Film Awards. He was born in Nellore and has reportedly sung over 40,000 tracks in several languages, predominantly in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.

He made his debut as playback singer in 1966 for a Telugu film 'Sri Sri Sri Maryada Ramanna'. He has also worked as a dubbing artist, turning into the on-screen voice of several leading actors including Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth.

The popular singer has also acted in around 70 Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films.