The legendary singer shares a smile with fellow greats K.S. Chitra and
P. Susheela
At a time when Malayalam film music was still finding its feet came Thaliritta Kinakkal as a whiff of fresh air. The unified Kerala State was on the cusp of a whole new era in all walks of life, and the voice of S. Janaki sounded similar to that of the ubiquitous koel in its verdant vistas. When Bollywood jived to S. Janaki’s infectious voiceSet to tune by composer M.S. Baburaj, the song penned by poet-lyricist P. Bhaskaran was an instant hit in 1963 for its effusive exposition of love and longing, and it made Janaki a household name in no time. That the song hasn’t lost its sheen a wee bit to date is testimony to its lasting appeal. Hearsay is that Bhaskaran master’s jaw dropped listening to the quality of Janaki’s diction, as she never once sounded like a non-Malayali. Janaki crooned tens of thousands of songs in Malayalam, never once making it appear that it wasn’t her mother tongue. She sang under the baton of many legendary music directors such as G. Devarajan, V. Dakshinamurthy, Ilayaraja, K. Raghavan, M.S. Viswanathan and in later years, composers such as MG Radhakrishnan and Johnson. Even after becoming a sought-after singer in many other Indian languages, she reserved a special place for Malayalam in her heart. She won the Kerala State Award for the best female playback singer 11 times.
