Happy Birthday, Janakiamma: Five lesser-known facts about the profound playback singer
The popular playback singer S Janaki is referred respectfully as 'Janakiamma'. The talented singer has sung more than 48,000 songs in 25 languages. S Janaki is fondly called 'The Nightingale of South India', and she has worked with composers of different generations. S Janaki's partnership with late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam was cherished by fans, and the duo has delivered several hit songs across languages. On today, the respectful Janakiamma is celebrating her 83rd birthday, and wishes have been pouring in for her on social media. At this time, here is a look at the five lesser-known facts about the profound playback singer.
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Telugu to Tamil
The Andhra Pradesh-born singer S Janaki aka Sistla Janaki started her career as a playback singer with the Telugu cinema industry. Later, she moved to Tamil and sang her first song 'Singaravelane Deva' for the 1957 film 'Konjum Salangai'. S Janaki then developed her territory by singing songs in Malayalam, Kannada, Odisha, and several other Indian languages.
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Avoids colored sarees
S Janaki was married to V. Ramprasad from a very talented family. He accompanied her in most of the recordings and has been a supportive husband. Unfortunately, Ramprasad passed away in 1997, and Janaki then decided on her own will to avoid wearing colored sarees or sarees with golden borders.
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Respiratory problems
Apart from Indian languages, S Janaki has also sung songs in German, Japanese, English, and Sinhalese. But the skilled singer has respiratory problems, and she has several challenging songs from overcoming her health problems. She has also achieved several top awards for her winning songs.
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Refused Padma Bhushan
S Janaki is a kind-hearted person, and she never behaves rudely with fans or others. Also, she is a person with zero head weight or ego. But in 2013, Janaki refused to accept the Padma Bhushan award and stated that it has come too late for her achievement.
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Reversed her retirement
After singing more than 48,000 songs across languages, S Janaki has achieved a grand feat and turned out as one of the versatile playback Indian singers of all time. In 2016, Janakiamma announced her retirement from singing songs in films, shows, and other events. But after continuous requests from film fraternities, Janaki reversed her retirement decision and sung the 'Un Usuru Kaathula' song in the 2018 film 'Pannadi'.
Pic Courtesy - Twitter
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