Janaki, who died on Saturday at the age of 88, consistently pushed the boundaries of playback singing during a career spanning more than six decades
Chennai: Legendary playback singer S. Janaki, whose extraordinary versatility made her one of Indian cinema's greatest voices, left audiences spellbound not only with her melodious singing but also with her remarkable ability to convincingly sing in the voices of children and even male characters.
Janaki, who died on Saturday at the age of 88, consistently pushed the boundaries of playback singing during a career spanning more than six decades, effortlessly adapting her voice to suit characters of all ages.
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One of the finest examples of her vocal range came in the 1980 Tamil film Rusi Kanda Poonai, where she sang "Kanna Nee Enge..." for a four-year-old child. The rendition was so authentic that listeners, with their eyes closed, could easily believe it was being sung by a young child.
She repeated the feat in 1982 with the song "Kokkaamandi..." from the film Chiriyo Chiri, once again lending her voice to a child with astonishing realism.
Her versatility, however, was not limited to children's voices. Janaki also stunned audiences by singing in a convincing male voice for the Tamil film Nenjathai Killathe. While male playback singers have often rendered songs in female voices for comic or dramatic effect, it is exceedingly rare for a female singer to convincingly perform in a male voice.
Her rendition of the Ilaiyaraaja-composed "Mummy Peru Maari..." became one of the most talked-about examples of her vocal brilliance. Janaki would go on to perform the song at numerous stage shows, where it continued to amaze audiences.
Widely regarded as one of India's most versatile playback singers, Janaki recorded more than 48,000 songs in about 20 languages, including Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali, besides songs in English, Japanese, German and Sinhala.
Born on April 23, 1938, in Pallapatla in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district, she began her playback career with the 1957 Tamil film Vidhiyin Vilayattu at the age of 19.
Fondly known as "Janaki Amma" and celebrated as the "Nightingale of South India," she won four National Film Awards and 33 state film awards, besides receiving the Kalaimamani award, the Rajyotsava Prashasti, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore.
Published: 11 Jul 2026, 11:20 pm IST
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