Published Jul 11, 2026 | 8:50 PM ⚊ Updated Jul 11, 2026 | 9:48 PM
S Janaki (23 April 1938 - 11 July 2026)
Synopsis: Reverently called Janaki Amma, she had recorded over 48,000 songs across different media. She had sang title tracks in more than Indian and foreign languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi, Badaga, Bengali, Konkani, English, Japanese, German, and Sinhala.
Legendary playback singer S Janaki passed away in Mysuru on Saturday, 11 July. The 88-year-old singer was earlier admitted to the Apollo BGS Hospitals with a fever.
Janaki was the recipient of four National Film Awards and 33 different state awards. During her illustrious career, she earned several sobriquets: the Nightingale of South India, Nightingale of India, Gana Kokila and Gana Kogile.
Reverently called Janaki Amma, she had recorded over 48,000 songs across different media. She had sang title tracks in more than Indian and foreign languages, including Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi, Badaga, Bengali, Konkani, English, Japanese, German, and Sinhala.
Known for her modulation and expression, she sang most songs in Kannada, followed by Malayalam.
Born in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district on 23 April 1938, Janaki learnt the basics of music from a Nadaswaram vidwan, Paidiswamy. She never had any formal training in classical music.
Her career as a playback singer began after her uncle advised her to shift to Madras (now Chennai), where she worked under R Sudarsanam. She debuted with Vidhiyin Vilayattu in 1957, and the Malayalam lullaby, “Amma Poovinum…“, in the Malayalam movie 10 Kalpanakal (2016), was her last as a playback singer.
