Veteran playback singer S Janaki, widely hailed as the “Nightingale of South India”, has died due to age-related health issues. Known for her honeyed voice, she remained a beloved presence across generations of film music listeners.
Born in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Janaki’s musical training began early when a guru who taught her sister voluntarily started coaching her as well. With a natural gift for singing, she went on to win second prize in an All India Radio competition.
Her first Tamil film song came with the 1957 release Magathala Naattu Mary, composed by R Parthasarathy—also his debut. In her early years, she worked at AVM on a monthly salary system that employed singers, and the stint opened doors to sing in multiple languages and collaborate with stalwarts such as T R Mahalingam, Seerkazhi S Govindarajan and C S Jayaraman.
A series of songs in the late 1950s and early 1960s helped cement her popularity, including duets and film tracks that stayed with Tamil audiences. While she sang for countless films, her career reached a major turning point and peak after the arrival of composer Ilaiyaraaja.
In the 1990s, she also delivered widely remembered songs in A R Rahman’s music, drawing younger listeners to her voice. Over her lifetime, she sang around 48,000 songs in 17 languages, and also wrote, composed and sang several Telugu devotional numbers; she additionally composed music for the Telugu film Mouna Porattam.
