Legendary playback singer S. Janaki is no longer Indian music has lost one of its greatest voices. With his expressive singing and unparalleled versatility, he mesmerized listeners for more than six decades. Janaki’s voice brought life to thousands of Indian songs in different languages, from soulful tunes to upbeat folk numbers. Her versatility in adapting to sing each character made her one of the most revered playback singers in the industry. He has many hits under his belt, but one rare feat still amazes music lovers to this day.
S. Janaki’s rare record of singing three voices in one song
One of Janaki’s best examples of her extraordinary talent is in the 1994 Tamil film ‘Magalir Mattum’, where she sang for three lead actresses, Revathi, Urvashi and Rohini, in three very different vocal styles for one song. Janaki did not sing in her natural voice throughout, but changed her pitch and pronunciation to perfectly suit each character’s personality. He gave Revathi a contemporary and stylish voice, used Brahmin dialect for Urvashi and switched to Chennai slang for Rohini. The song, written by lyricist Vaali and composed by Ilaiyaraajaremains a classic example of his ability to change his voice without losing musical perfection.
A singer who could become any character
S. Janaki was not limited to singing only in female voice. She easily sang for girls, little boys, old ladies and for male characters when a song called for it throughout her career. This rare flexibility sets her apart from any other playback singer of her generation. He sang more than 48,000 songs in about 17 languages including Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu and Sinhalese. His voice broke through the language barrier and his expressive face attracted people from all over the country.
S Janaki His extraordinary legacy will live on forever
from MS Viswanathan & Ilaiyaraaja to AR Rahman, all the great Indian composers found S. Janaki an exceptionally talented singer and gave her memorable songs. He also composed music and wrote lyrics for devotional albums, which showed that his creativity was not limited to the reproduction of singing. But his feat of creating three different voices in one song in Magalir Mattum is one of the rarest feats in Indian cinema. It always serves as a constant reminder that St. 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.