Krishnakumar Kunnath

( Aug 23 1968 - May 31 2022 )

Krishnakumar Kunnath (23 August 1968 – 31 May 2022), popularly known as KK, was an Indian playback singer. He recorded songs in several languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati. KK began his career by singing advertisement jingles, and made his film debut with an A.R. Rahman soundtrack. In 1999, he launched his debut album titled Pal. The songs "Pal" and "Yaaron" from the album Pal became very popular and are commonly used in school farewells. His popular songs included "Tadap Tadap Ke Is Dil Se" from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), the Tamil song "Apadi Podu", "Dola Re Dola" from Devdas (2002), "Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai" from Woh Lamhe... (2006), "Aankhon Mein Teri" from Om Shanti Om (2007), "Khuda Jane" from Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008), "Piya Aaye Na" from Aashiqui 2 (2013), "Mat Aazma Re" from Murder 3 (2013), "India Wale" from Happy New Year (2014) and "Tu Jo Mila" from Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015). In 2009, he won the Screen Awards, Best Playback Singer – Male for his song "Khuda Jaane" of the film Bachna Ae Haseeno. He has received six Filmfare Awards nominations. Born in Delhi on 23 August 1968 to Malayali parents, Krishnakumar Kunnath grew up in New Delhi. He sang 3,500 jingles before breaking into Bollywood. KK attended Delhi's Mount St Mary's School, and Kirori Mal College, Delhi University. He made an appearance in the song "Josh of India", released to support the Indian Cricket Team during the 1999 Cricket World Cup. KK married Jyothy in 1991. His son Nakul Krishna Kunnath sang the song "Masti" from his album Humsafar with him.[8] KK also had a daughter. After graduating in commerce from Kirori Mal College, KK did a six-month stint as a marketing executive before pursuing his passion for music. He struggled to establish himself in the competitive recording industry at first, resorting to singing at hotels to make ends meet. After a few years, he moved to Mumbai in 1994. On 31 May 2022, KK performed a live music concert in the Gurudas College festival at Nazrul Mancha auditorium, in South Kolkata. After the concert, he returned to his hotel in Esplanade. He complained of feeling unwell soon after his performance on the way back to his hotel, where he had a cardiac arrest. He collapsed, and efforts to revive him at the hotel were unsuccessful. He was rushed to Calcutta Medical Research Institute (CMRI) at around 10:30 pm, where he was declared dead. He was 53 years old at the time of his death. On 1 June 2022, Kolkata Police egistered a case of unnatural death to investigate the cause. His autopsy was videographed. The autopsy report mentioned myocardial infarction (heart attack) as the likely cause of death. The report ruled out any foul play. According to the doctor who conducted the autopsy, KK could have survived if he had received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately after falling unconscious.He had experienced pain in his shoulder and arm in his last few days and had informed his wife about his condition. He mistook the cause to be digestive issues and was consuming antacids; on his last day, he had again complained of pain. According to the autopsy report, his heart had 80% blockage. Three Public Interest Litigation (PIL)s related to his death were registered in the Calcutta High Court and are pending a hearing.

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Achievements

Profession

Indian playback singer

Address

Delhi, India