The Hindi film world reacted with shock and disbelief to the news of the death of popular playback singer KK on Tuesday night in Kolkata at the age of 53.
“In utter shock. Just heard about KK. Someone please tell me it’s not true,” music director Pritam tweeted, articulating the sentiments of the countless fans of the late singer.
KK, about 10 hours before his death, took to Instagram and shared pictures from his concert. His death came as a shocking surprise for his family and many friends.
Vishal Dadlani commented: “The tears won’t stop. What a guy he was. What a voice, what a heart, what a human being. #KK is FOREVER!!!”
Krishnakumar Kunnath, or KK, began his career in 1996 and gave the world hits such as ‘Tadap Tadap’ from ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Dus Bahane’ from ‘Dus’ and ‘Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai’ from ‘Woh Lamhe’, among many others.
Actor Manoj Bajpayee said: “It’s so so heartbreaking! A talent with grace & dignity! Pure gem of a person! Known him for many years!! Will take a lot of time to come to terms with this loss!! Condolences to his family & friends!! #RIPKK SPEECHLESS!!”
Ajay Devgn also wrote: “It seems so ominous. The news of KK’s death, that too right after a live performance, is terrible. He sang for films I was associated with, so his loss seems that much more personal. RIP #KrishnakumarKunnath. Prayers & condolences to his family.”
Armaan Malik tweeted: “Extremely sad and devastated. Another shocking loss for all of us. Can’t believe our KK sir is no more … what is even happening. I can’t take it anymore.”
KK was born in Delhi in 1968 and studied at Mount St Mary’s and Kirori Mal College. He became famous after his first album ‘Pal’, whose title song has remained a hardy perennial at all farewells, was recorded in several languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Bengali.
The other who mourned KK’s passing included: TV actress Munmun Dutta, former cricketer Virender Sehwag, playback singer Sonu Kakkar, actress Dia Mirza, actor Vivek Oberoi, singer Rekha Bhardwaj, Vicky Kaushal, Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Mohit Chauhan, Singer Harshdeep Kaur and many more celebrities and political leaders across the country also mourned his demise.
PM Modi mourns
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the vast number of people who condoled the death of popular singer KK at the age of 53 after a concert in Kolkata on Tuesday evening.
“Saddened by the untimely demise of noted singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK,” Modi tweeted. “His songs reflected a wide range of emotions that struck a chord with people of all age groups. We will always remember him through his songs. Condolences to his family and fans. Om Shanti.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also tweeted: “KK was a very talented and versatile singer. His untimely demise is very saddening and a huge loss to Indian music. With his gifted voice, he has left an indelible impression on the minds of countless music lovers. My deepest condolences to his family and fans. Om Shanti Shanti.”
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla spoke for KK’s countless fans when he tweeted: “His soulful voice gave life to songs in every genre.”
Preliminary PM report states cause of death ‘normal’
The preliminary post-mortem report of popular playback singer Krishnakumar Kunnath (KK), who died on late Tuesday evening in the city, after a stage performance, has cited the cause of death to be “normal”, without any trace of foul play.
However, the detailed post-mortem report, along with chemical analysis, will be available only after 72 hours, said sources in Kolkata Police, which received the preliminary post mortem report on late Wednesday afternoon from the state-run SSKM Medical College & Hospital, where a team of doctors conducted the autopsy.
According to the preliminary post-mortem report, following the contracted arteries, it can be assumed that the cause of death was massive myocardial infarction. However, the exact cause of death can be ascertained only after the final report is available.
On Tuesday after completing his stage performance at Nazrul Mach in south Kolkata, KK returned to his hotel in central Kolkata. After returning to the hotel, he vomited and became seriously sick. He was immediately rushed to a local hospital where he was declared as “brought dead.”
Now, here the question is being raised by a section of the city- based physicians on why KK was not rushed to the hospital directly from Nazrul Manch, especially after he complained of uneasiness while performing at the dais there. During the show, KK asked for switching off the high-voltage spotlights and also took a rest for some time in between going backstage.
Questions are also being raised about the mismanagement in crowd handling at Nazrul Manch on Tuesday evening, where over crowd of double the capacity of the venue entered, that might have created suffocation. Already a political slugfest has started over this issue.
KK came to Kolkata on Monday and on the same day, he performed at the same Nazrul Manch for another city college.
