Krishnakumar Kunnath, known by his stage name KK, leaves behind a rich legacy of music for his legion of fans.
Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath. ANI
Beloved Bollywood playback singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, was cremated in the presence of his family and members of the film fraternity on Thursday, at Mumbai’s Versova Hindu Cemetary. KK had passed away on the night of 31 May at the age of 53 in Kolkata after a live performance. He is survived by his wife and two children.
KK, leaves behind a rich legacy of music for his legion of fans. The singer’s body was brought to Mumbai late on 1 June. His funeral took place at 1 pm on Thursday. His colleagues headed for his residence to meet with his family and pay tribute.
His funeral was attended by film industry personalities such as singers Shreya Ghoshal, Alka Yagnik, Harshdeep Kaur, Rahul Vaidya and Papon, directors Kabir Khan and Vishal Bhardwaj, lyricist Javed Akhtar, music directors Shankar Mahadevan and Salim Merchant, and others.
Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj on 1 June mourned the death of “younger brother” KK and remembered how he and the singer began their journey together with Gulzar’s “Maachis”.
KK memorably sang Chhod Aaye Hum Woh Galiyaan’, composed by Bhardwaj for the 1996 movie with co-singers Hariharan, Suresh Wadkar and Vinod Sehgal.
Doctors at the hospital said they suspected cardiac arrest to be the cause of the death.
“He had a major blockage in the left main coronary artery and small blockages in various other arteries and sub-arteries. Excessive excitement during the live show caused stoppage of blood flow leading to cardiac arrest that claimed his life,” the medical practitioner told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The artiste could have been saved if someone had administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately after he fell unconscious, the doctor said.
He said that the singer had prolonged cardiac problems which remained unaddressed.
“I want to be like KK”, said Shaan on Instagram.
Shaan and KK collaborated on several hits including “Koi Kahe”, “It’s The Time To Disco” and shared a collage of photos with KK on Instagram. In the long caption, he remembered the good memories with the late singer.
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Taking to Twitter, actress Pooja Bhatt talked about the time she last met KK. It was in a studio in 2019. “12 June 2019. The last time we were in a studio with #KK This is an image of the lyric sheet he was handed. Ironic? Tragic? Bizarre? Indeed (sic)!” she tweeted.
Paying a befitting tribute to KK, Amul Topical also shared a creative of the late singer. In it, KK was seen on stage singing his song ‘Yaaron…Yaad Ayenge Yeh Pal’. They bid adieu to the singer by penning, ‘Alvida KK 1968-2022’.
West Bengal government paid last respect to KK with a gun salute to his mortal remains.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who supervised the proceedings, paid floral tributes to the late singer, whose body was kept at Rabindra Sadan for some time.
Banerjee was seen consoling KK’s wife and other family members who were present at the venue.
The singer’s sudden death has sent shockwaves across the entertainment industry. Many celebs took to social media at the late hour to express shock and sadness at the singer’s demise. Actor Akshay Kumar, for whom KK sang a number of songs over the years, tweeted, “Extremely sad and shocked to know of the sad demise of KK. What a loss! Om Shanti.”
Actors Vicky Kaushal and Ranveer Singh both shared KK’s picture on Instagram Stories. While Ranveer added a broken heart emoji, Vicky wrote, “Your magical voice will live on forever. Thank you for your evergreen songs.” Singer Sonu Nigam also shared an emotional message for KK on Instagram
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also mourned the death of KK. In a tweet, PM Modi said he is saddened by the untimely demise of the noted singer.
With inputs from agencies
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