Legendary playback singer S. Janaki no more. Indian music has lost one of its greatest voices. With his expressive singing and unparalleled versatility, he has captivated audiences for over six decades. Janaki’s voice has given life to thousands of Indian songs in different languages, from soulful melodies to joyful folk numbers. His versatility to suit his singing to every character has made him one of the most respected playback singers in the industry. He has many achievements under his belt, but one outstanding achievement still amazes music lovers to this day.
S. Janaki’s unique record of singing three voices in one song
One of Janaki’s best examples of her extraordinary talent is the 1994 Tamil film ‘Magalir Mattum’, where she sang for the three lead actresses, Revathi, Urvashi and Rohini, in three very different vocal styles in one song. Janaki does not sing in her natural voice at all but changes her tone and pronunciation to perfectly suit the personality of each character. He gave Revathi a contemporary, beautiful voice, used Brahmin dialect for Urvashi, and switched to zippy Chennai slang for Rohini. The song, written by lyricist Vaali and composed by: Ilaiyaraajais still a classic example of his ability to change his voice without losing musical perfection.
A singer who can be any character
S. Janaki is not limited to singing only in a woman’s voice. She can easily sing for girls, little boys, old women, and for male characters when a song calls for it in her career. That incredible flexibility set him apart from every other playback singer of his generation. He has sung more than 48,000 songs in about 17 languages, such as Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, and Sinhala. His voice crossed the language barrier, and his expressive face captivated people across the country.
S Janaki Its unique legacy will live on forever
from: MS Viswanathan & Ilaiyaraaja to AR Rahman, every major Indian composer found in S. Janaki a singer of extraordinary talent and gave him memorable songs. He also composed music and wrote lyrics for devotional albums, proving that his creativity was not limited to playback singing. But his feat of creating three distinct voices in one song in Magalir Mattum is one of the most unique feats in Indian cinema. It always serves as a constant reminder that S. Janaki was not only a singer but a true voice artist, and her legacy will serve as an inspiration to generations of musicians and music lovers.
