A chat with legendary singer S. Janaki

K. Kalyan and S. Janaki at his residence

Audio business is becoming worst day-by-day is a common complaint by every music company owner. Lack of interest in film music, impact of piracy etc are the reasons you generally get from experts. But it is bad music that is killing the audio market says S. Janaki, a legendary singer of South India. S. Janaki visited Bangalore after a long time. She came here to meet writer, musician K Kalyan (she calls him as her son) and during her visit, she spent some time with us at Kalyan's house. Though her mother tongue is Telugu she is so affluent in Kannada, even a Kannadadiga will be surprised by her vocabulary! S. Janaki shared some of the memorable moments of her career and mesmerized the journalist group with her canorous voice. Three hours we spent there just flied by like three minutes!

S. Janaki entered the filmdom when it was in untamed condition where filmmakers used to respect music; people used to love music. Hailing from Andhra Pradesh she was recognized by Kannada and Malayalam film

industry. She is treated as daughter of their own land in Malayalam. S. Janaki known for her incredible talent of singing in various voices of a child, adult and even in male voice has sung more than 16000 songs in 17 Indian languages! It was not smooth sailing for her from the beginning. There were days when she got Rs 200 as remuneration! Of course, there are instances where she received Rs. 20000 too! She accepted the situations as they came her way and has no regrets about her personal and professional life.

S. Janaki is a singer by birth. It may be surprising to know that she went to musical class just for 10 months. She was told by her Guru that she need not learn music as music is part of her blood and she has got all the requisites of a good singer. Started singing from 1951 her specialty is the ability to change her voice according to the mood of a song or a situation. She recalled her experience of singing 'Eke Ee Kopa Shankara…' of Bhakta Siriyala. She was so emotionally immersed while singing that song, she cried for more than an hour! "Those days were the golden days. Good lyrics, good music and sensible picturisation were the plus. Lyrics used to take front seat even by music directors. Tunes were so simple, some times we simply used to hum instead of using musical instruments," she recalled the golden moments of her career. "Things have changed now. Melody is taking back seat in front of loud music that is spoiling the value of lyrics. Directors are not serious about the mood of a song while shooting. Added to that are the bunch of co-dancers appear in-between even in intimate songs…" she added. This natural singer hates remix culture because they are re-composed with loud music spoiling its original charm.

S. Janaki

S. Janaki was honored with innumerable awards and accolades from all over the country but she has a special gratitude for Kannada and Malayalam film industries as they are the ones who recognized and encouraged in her early days. Praveen Sultan and Lata Mangeshkar are her all time favorite singers. She has many sweet memories and bitter experiences in her career. Above all, she is happy and is a complete woman with son Murali Krishna and daughter-in-law Uma. Janaki is so involved in her profession life she never felt her age! "My routine life never allowed me to feel my age," she says. "I request the god to keep my voice like this till the end of my life. That's all," says the legendary singer with a broad smile having millions and millions of fans.