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 The multi-faceted singer, S Janaki, turns 69 on April 23. Born in 1938 in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh, Janaki's songs in the four South Indian languages have made her the most popular singer in South India. Chennaionline is happy and proud to present a
special package of S Janaki songs in Digital
Downloads for you to make your own collector's CD.
Janaki had no formal training in classical music. Born in Ballapatla, Guntur district, she moved to Chennai in search of a career in music. Chalapathi Rao, to whom she owes a lot, gave her the first songs in Vidhiyin Vilaiyaattu in 1957
Chalapathi Rao found that Janaki, despite lack of training in Carnatic music, could sing any type of song -- classical, folk or disco. What is more she had the knack of picking up the nuances of any song in virtually no time. Her grasping power stunned even senior music directors.
Her first two songs in Vidhiyin Vilaiyaattu were sad ones. Sadly, the film was never released and therefore Janaki's try too was a sad one. The first film release was Magadhala Naaattu mary in 1957 (Tamil), with R Parthasarathy as the music director. The duet with PB Sreenivos, with whom she was to later provide several scintillating duets, was called Kannukku Nerey Minnidum Thaarai. In 1957 itself she joined AVM studios as their singer. The contract provided her a monthly salary and also allowed her to sing for other production houses but she would have to hand over 50 per cent of money so earned from other production houses to AVM studios. Some singers found this unacceptable and didn't enter into such a contract with AVM but Janaki had no problem as she was grateful to AVM< studios for giving her the opportunity to sing in big movies and also provide her exposure.
Janaki is still known for the manner in which she sang Singaaravelaney Devaa in Konjum Salangai for music director SM Subbiah Naidu. This was among the few songs where the song was recorded line by line as it was a complex one. Janaki matched Kaarakurichi Arunachalam's nadaswaram scale to a T with amazing results. In fact, she owed the song to veteran singer P Leela, who like a few other singers was offered the song but declined as it was too high a pitch for a singer. Leela suggested Janaki's name to Subbiah Naidu stating that Janaki alone could sing in that pitch with success. Leela was not only shrewd in her assessment but also proved she was a great human being with no ego problems. Janaki even to this day recalls Leela's contribution to her career.
Janaki sang numbers for a large number of music directors in all South Indian languages and had the unique staying power to continue her playback career for nearly five decades. Her Hindi numbers too were good, especially since her Hindi was good.
Although music directors like KV Mahadevan and MS Viswanathan did make use of her talents, her career achieved a turning point with the entry of Ilayaraja right from the latter's first film Annakili. For over a decade, this combo rocked the world with some sensational numbers.
Even after the entry of AR Rahman with a new style and new patterns of orchestration, Janaki continued to make a mark like in Nenjinile Nenjinile, Maargazhi Thingal Allavaa (Sangamam), Ottakathai Kattiko (Gentleman), or Mudhavaney (Mudhavalvan).
The best way to greet this phenomenal singer on her birthday is to recall the best numbers which Chennaionline has arranged through digital downloads. Happy listening and happy hunting, dear collector!!
Click
here to Downloads Songs
R Rangaraj
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