Whether it was the orchestration of M S Viswanathan, the genius of Ilaiyaraaja, the sophistication of K V Mahadevan, or the later collaborations with younger composers, Janaki didn’t catch up with the times but defined them with her voice. She constantly reinvented, but never let go of the aspect that defined her stellar career: Instant recognisability.
If it was one combination that left a profound impact on South Indian film music, it was S Janaki’s collaboration with Ilaiyaraaja. Together, they have produced songs that still rule the airwaves, and have outlived even the films they featured in.
Even her throaty whispers made hearts flutter, her full-throated yearning made them skip a beat, and it might not be too far-fetched to say that one of the most versatile instruments in Ilaiyaraaja’s arsenal was the malleable voice of S Janaki.
The way Janaki made emotion and character the two pillars of her vocal range is stuff of history. Playback singing is all about becoming the actor, and performing in a way you can’t discern the actor and the singer. Janaki was a maestro in that aspect.
How could the same person be a cherubic villager, a high-handed woman, a grieving mother, a consoling partner, and even a child so effortlessly? How could she embrace folk music and cabaret numbers the same way she delivered devotional songs and lullabies? How could she employ playful inflections and unadulterated performances without them affecting her identity?
Every South Indian household carries memories tied to a Janaki song. Her voice travelled through transistor radios, cassette tapes, compact discs, television channels and streaming platforms. Generations of singers, from K S Chithra to Shreya Ghoshal and countless others, have acknowledged Janaki’s extraordinary command over expression.
She won four National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, apart from an extraordinary collection of State awards across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. But she was also a fiercely protective artiste, who put herself above any awards that came her way.
In fact, in 2013, she declined the Padma Bhushan, stating that the recognition had come too late given her decades of contributions. S Janaki’s death draws curtains on one of Indian cinema’s richest musical chapters. But one can’t confine her legacy to statistics or even the number of songs.