S. Janaki is an Indian female
playback singerA playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
. Renowned for her voice modulation abilities, she has sung in many
Indian languagesThe languages of India belong to several language families, the major ones being the Indo-European languages—Indo-Aryan and the Dravidian languages...
, most frequently in
KannadaKannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
,
MalayalamMalayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
,
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
,
TeluguTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, and Hindi. Throughout a career spanning more than five decades, she has won four
National Film AwardsThe National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
and 35 different State Film Awards. Her association with singer S. P. Balasubramanyam and composer
IlaiyaraajaIlaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
is among the most popular musical combinations in South India. She is fondly better known as, "The Nightingale of the South".
Early life
S. Janaki was born into a Telugu Brahmin family in Pallapatla,
RepalleRepalle is a town, mandal and a municipality in Guntur district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located 28 miles south of Guntur.-Geography:Repalle is located at...
village, in
GunturGuntur , is a city and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, located to the north and west of the Bay of Bengal. It is approximately to the south of the national capital, New Delhi and south east of state capital, Hyderabad. Guntur is the fourth largest city in Andhra...
,
Madras PresidencyThe Madras Presidency , officially the Presidency of Fort St. George and also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision of British India...
, now part of
Andhra PradeshAndhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. She was interested in music from early age and started performing at the age of three. She learned music from Sree Paidiswamy, a Nadaswaram Vidwan.
Singing career
Janaki started singing at the age of 19. She later moved to
ChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
on the advice of her uncle Chandrashekar and joined AVM Studios as a singer. She started her career in movies by singing songs composed by T. Chalapati Rao in the Tamil movie
Vidhiyin Vilayattu in 1957. Subsequently, she performed in the Telugu movie
MLAM.L.A. is a sociopolitical Telugu film directed and produced by K. B. Tilak.-Cast:*Kongara Jaggayya ... Dasu*Savitri ... Nirmala*Gummadi Venkateswara Rao ... Damodaram*J. V...
.Janaki became most preferred female singer of south India from 1970s. Janaki went on to become one of the most favourite singers of Ilayaraja, and a phase ensued when she sang at least 2 to 3 songs per movie in all the four South Indian languages. She sang in almost every major South Indian movie in the 1980s and 1990s.From late 1970s ,for more than two decades, she is the top female singer in south Indian films. She is having a record of maximum singing compared to any other female singer in the Malayalam & Kannada film industry and she also holds the record of singing the most difficult song in South Films i.e. shiva shiva ennada from the kannada film Hemavathi. She also penned many songs for
TamilTamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
and
TeluguTelugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
movies as she was extremely good in both the languages. She has also sung in
HindiStandard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, Sinhalese,
BengaliBengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
,
OriyaOriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
,
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
,
SanskritSanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
,
KonkaniKonkaniKonkani is a name given to a group of several cognate dialects spoken along the narrow strip of land called Konkan, on the west coast of India. This is, however, somewhat an over-generalisation. Geographically, Konkan is defined roughly as the area between the river Damanganga to the north...
,
TuluThe Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
,
SaurashtraSourashtra or "Sourashtras" or ꢱꣃꢬꢵꢰ꣄ꢜ꣄ꢬꢵ refers to a community of people who had their original homes in Gujarat and presently settled almost in all major Towns of Tamil Nadu and are concentrated more in Madurai which is considered as their cultural Headquarters.They have also settled in...
, Baduga,
Japaneseis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and
GermanGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
.
A devotee of Lord Krishna and Shirdi Sai Baba, she has also recorded Hindu devotional music on
MeeraMeerabai was an aristocratic Hindu mystical singer and devotee of Lord Krishna from Rajasthan and one of the most significant figures of the Sant tradition of the Vaishnava bhakti movement...
.
Her contemporaries include S.P.Balasubramanyam, P B Srinivas,
RajkumarRajkumar , born as Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju was a popular actor and singer in the Kannada film industry...
,
GhantasalaGhantasala Venkateswara Rao was a famous & popular Indian Playback Singer and music composer of Telugu films and many other languages such as Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Tulu and Hindi. He is the recipient of the Padmashree award, India's fourth highest civilian award. For nearly a quarter of a...
, T. M. Soundararajan,
P. SusheelaPulapaka Susheela is an Indian playback singer. In a career spanning more than four decades, she has recorded songs in many Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Oriya, Sanskrit, Tulu, Badaga and Sinhalese.-Personal life:She is the daughter of Pulapaka...
,
Vani JayaramVani Jayaram , the unmatched nightingle of India, is a prominent Indian female playback singer. She has recorded more than 8,000 songs in 14 different languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi and Hindi...
, K J Yesudas, L R Eeswari,
P. JayachandranPaliyath Jayachandran, popularly known as P. Jayachandran is an Indian playback singer. He has won one National Award, four Kerala State Awards and four Tamil Nadu State Awards. He has recorded songs in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi languages...
,
P. LeelaPorayathu Leela better known as P. Leela was a popular Indian playback singer. She was awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously in 2006.-Early life:...
,
K. S. ChithraK. S. Chithra often credited as Chithra , is an Indian playback singer who has made her mark in the Indian music playback industry. Popularly known as Chinna Kuyil of South India, she has lent her voice to Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Badaga and Punjabi films...
,
SwarnalathaSwarnalatha was a Indian playback singer. From 1987 onward, she rendered nearly 7000 songs in many languages including Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Urdu, Bengali, Oriya, Punjabi and Badaga....
,
SujathaSujatha Mohan , usually credited as Sujatha, is an award-winning Indian playback singer who is popular for singing in Malayalam and Tamil movies. She has also sung for Telugu, Kannada and Hindi movies. She is widely popular for her evergreen melodies and her sweet voice is considered to be her...
and Jency
Telugu Discography
| Year | Movie | Songs |
| 1978 |
Padaharella Vayasu Padaharella Vayasu is a 1978 Telugu film starring Sridevi Kapoor, Chandra Mohan, and Mohan Babu. Directed by K. Raghavendra Rao, it is a remake of the Tamil hit 16 Vayathinile which starred Kamal Hassan and Sridevi Kapoor.-Plot:...
|
Sirimallepoovaa Sirimallepoovaa, Vayasanta Mudupugatti Vastantale Adukundaam, Kattukathalu Nenu Cheppi Navviste, Pantachelo Paalakanki Navvindi |
| 1981 |
Aakali Rajyam Aakali Rajyam is a 1981 Telugu language film starring Kamal Haasan and Sridevi. It is a remake of K. Balachander's 1980 Tamil film Varumayin Niram Sivappu that also starred Kamal Haasan and Sridevi in the lead.-Plot:...
|
Kanne Pillavani, Tu Hai Raja Mai Hu Rani |
| 1982 |
Nireekshana Nireekshana is a Telugu Drama film directed by Balu Mahendra starring Bhanu Chander and Archana. The music was composed by Maestro Ilayaraja. This movie was released in the year 1982 and remained as all time classic. What is worth noting about this film is the music by Ilayaraja, not only songs...
|
Aakasham Enatido, Yamuna Enduku Nuvvu |
| 1983 |
Sitara |
Vennello Godari Andam, Jilibili Palukula, Ku Ku Ku, Nee Gaanam |
| 1983 |
Abhilasha Abhilasha is a 1983 Telugu film, directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy and was produced by K.S. Rama Rao. It is the film adaptation of Yandamuri Veerendranath's novel of the same name. Chiranjeevi, Radhika, Rao Gopal Rao, and Gollapudi Maruthi Rao played vital roles...
|
Vela Paala Ledu, Banthi Chamanthi, Eureka!, Urakalai Godavari, Sande Podulakaada |
| 1983 |
Saagara Sangamam Sagara Sangamam is a National Award–winning 1983 Telugu film directed by K. Viswanath and produced by Edida Nageshwara Rao, starring Kamal Haasan, Jayaprada, Geetha, Sarath Babu, S. P. Sailaja and Chakri Toleti. The movie was dubbed into Tamil as Salangai Oli...
|
Om Nama Sivaya, Mounamelanoyi, Baalakanamaya |
| 1984 |
Challenge Challenge is a 1984 Telugu film directed by A. Kodandarami Reddy. It stars Chiranjeevi, Rao Gopal Rao, Suhasini Mani Ratnam, and Vijayashanti in the lead roles. Maestro Ilayaraja composed music for the film...
|
Induvadana, Manase Maikam, Sayamkalam, Om Shanthi, Shaama Eethippalu |
| 1985 |
Preminchu Pelladu |
Ee Chaitra Veena |
| 1986 |
Khaidi No. 786 Khaidi No.786 is a 1988 film, starring Chiranjeevi, Bhanupriya, Suthivelu, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Mohan Babu, Nutan Prasad, and Kaikala Satyanarayana. The film was directed by Vijaya Bapineedu.- Plot :...
|
Guvva Gorinka Tho, Chali Gaali Kottindammo, Raito Ato Ito, Atu Amalapuram |
| 1987 |
Abhinandana Abhinandana is a 1987 Musical Telugu Cinema. It stars Sobhana, Karthik Muthuraman and Sarath Babu. The lyrics are beautifully penned by Acharya Atreya. The soundtrack of the film was composed by maestro Illayaraja which became highly successful...
|
Ade Neevu Ade Nenu, Chukkalanti Ammayi Chakkanaina Abbayi, Manchu Kurise Velalo, Rangulalo Kalavo |
| 1990 |
Bobbili Raja |
Kanyakumari, Oddante Vinade, Balpam Patti |
| 1990 |
Kondaveeti Donga Kondaveeti Donga is a film starring Chiranjeevi which was a massive hit when it was released in 1990. Engaging and with a social cause at the same time, relating to both masses and classes, Kondaveeti Donga remains one of the best movies in the Telugu film history...
|
Kolo Kollamma, Sri Anjaneyam, Tip Top Look |
| 1991 |
Nirnayam Nirnayam is a 1991 Telugu film directed by Priyadarshan. The film stars Nagarjuna Akkineni, Amala, Murali Mohan, Subhalekha Sudhakar, Giri Babu and Sharat Saxena in important roles. The movie was dubbed in Tamil and Hindi languages as Sambavam and Girafthari respectively...
|
Eppudepudani, Mila Mila |
| 1991 |
Killer Killer is a 1991 Telugu Action thriller film directed by Fazil. The film stars Nagarjuna Akkineni, Nagma, Sharada in important roles. The film was also dubbed into Tamil as Easwar.-Plot:...
|
Piliche Kuhu Kuhu, Oh Rabbi Yendabba |
| 1992 |
Alapana |
Aakanulalo, Kalise Prathi, Priyathama |
| 1992 |
Chinnarayudu |
Bujji Pitta, Bulli Pitta |
| 1998 |
Anthapuram |
Sooredu Poova |
| 1999 |
Jodi |
Kadile Kalame |
Personal life
S. Janaki was married to V. Ramprasad. She is now settled in
ChennaiChennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
with her son Murali Krishna, who acted in a few films and has an audio business of his own, and his wife Uma Murali Krishna, a classical dancer (Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi); they have two daughters named Amruthavarshini and Apsara.She is known for her simplicity and down to earth behaviour.
She is also a close relative of Carnatic classical vocalist
Garimella Balakrishna PrasadGarimella Balakrishna Prasad is an Indian classical devotional singer and composer. He has been the Asthana Gayaka of the Tirumala temple at Tirupati from 1978 to 2006....
.
State Awards
National Film Awards
- 1977 - Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
- (Song: "Senthoora Poove") 16 Vayathinile16 Vayathinile is a 1977 Tamil feature film directed by Bharathiraja. The film stars Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi. The film's score and soundtrack are composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The film marked Bharathiraja's debut as a filmmaker/screenwriter and it met with a strong critical reception upon...
, Tamil FilmTamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
- 1981 - Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
- (Song: "Ettumanoorambalathil") OppolOppol is a 1980 Malayalam film written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair and directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan. Balan K. Nair, Menaka, Master Aravind and Shankaradi comprised the major cast. The film was based on a short story of the same name written by M. T. in 1975.-Plot:The film revolves around Malu , her...
, Malayalam FilmThe Cinema of Kerala or Malayalam cinema refers to the film industry in the Indian state of Kerala, which makes films in the Malayalam language. Malayalam movies typically portray social or family issues and are considered more realistic than films from other parts of India. Malayalam cinema has...
- 1984 - Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
- (Song: "Vennello godari andham") SitharaSithara is a Punjabi word meaning little star. It may also refer to:* Sithara , Indian actress* Mohan Sithara, Malayam film music composer...
, Telugu FilmThe Cinema of Andhra Pradesh, also referred to as Telugu Cinema or Tollywood, is the Telugu film industry in India. The Telugu language film industry is known for being one of the three largest in terms of no.of films produced yearly in India. The Prasads IMAX theatre in Hyderabad is one of the...
- 1992 - Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
- (Song: "Inji Idippazagha") Devar Magan, Tamil FilmTamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered...
Other awards
- 1986 - Kalaimamani
The Kalaimamani is an award in Tamil Nadu state, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram for excellence in the field of art and literature....
from the Government of Tamil NaduThe Government of Tamil Nadu, headquartered at Chennai is the governing authority for the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at the Fort St. George...
- 2002 - Cinema 'Achiever Award' from the Government of Kerala
The Government of Kerala is a democratically elected body that governs the State of Kerala, India for a period of 5 years. The state government is headed by the Governor of Kerala as the nominal head of state, with a democratically elected Chief Minister as real head of the executive. The state...
- 2005 - Special Jury Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music
- 2009 - Honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore
The University of Mysore , is a public university in India. The University founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore, and was conceptualized on the basis of a report on educational progress in the United States and Australia, submitted by Messrs Thomas Denham and...
for contributions to Kannada Cinema
Further reading