Veteran playback singer S. Janaki, fondly known as the “Nightingale of South India”, passed away on Saturday at the age of 88 at a private hospital in Mysuru after suffering a cardiac arrest and age-related health issues. Her family confirmed that she passed away peacefully.
Born in Andhra Pradesh, Janaki’s remarkable career spanned more than six decades.
She recorded nearly 48,000 songs in about 20 Indian languages, including Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali. She also sang for films, albums, television and radio.
She was widely admired for her exceptional vocal range and her collaborations with legendary composers such as Ilaiyaraaja and M. S. Viswanathan.
She also became well-known in Hindi cinema with the song “Bol Baby Bol Rock and Roll” from Anil Kapoor’s film Meri Jung, featuring Javed Jaffrey.
S. Janaki received four National Film Awards and several state honours during her career. Her death marks the end of a golden era in Indian playback singing.
