Kolkata: Singer Krishnakumar Kunnath, popularly known as KK, who was in Kolkata for a concert, died on Tuesday evening (May 31). He was 53.
The playback singer collapsed after the concert and was rushed to a private hospital in the city. He was "brought dead" to Kolkata's CMRI Hospital around 10 pm, hospital authorities told.
The autopsy of the singer will be conducted today to ascertain the exact reason for his death.
Born in New Delhi to C S Menon and Kunnath Kanakavalli on August 23, 1968, he was an alumnus of Delhi's Mount St Mary's School.
Though a Malayali by birth, who had never undergone any formal training in music, KK never shied away from singing in languages he was not much acquainted with, like Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati.
KK sang 3,500 jingles before breaking into Bollywood.
KK was known for songs like 'Pal' and 'Yaaron', which went on to become big hits among teens in the late 1990s, often heard during school and college farewells and teen cultural events.
"There is a certain energy an artiste gets when he or she is on stage. No matter what one's condition is, once I am on stage, I forget everything and simply perform," KK had said in his memoir on his official website, The Mesmerizer.
From the early 2000s, he blazed a career in playback singing and recorded a wide range of popular songs for Bollywood films.
Political leaders, actors, and fans tweeted condolences.
"Saddened by the untimely demise of noted singer Krishnakumar Kunnath popularly known as KK. His songs reflected a wide range of emotions and 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," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.
"Extremely sad and shocked to know of the sad demise of KK. What a loss! Om Shanti," actor Akshay Kumar tweeted.
The Mesmerizer, which details KK's discography and memoir, describes him as a "versatile singer [who] has produced many unforgettable and everlasting songs."
To name a few, the effervescent "Khuda Jaane", romantic numbers like "Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai" and "Awarapan Banjarapan", and melancholic "Tadap Tadap Ke", one of his early hits from the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.