Art has this power of documenting time, and creating memories that stay beyond time. Sowcar Janaki created art for 74 years, across 400 films in all the major South Indian languages. Imagine the memories she has created on her own, and through her association with people spanning generations, and various departments of this wonderful world of cinema. CE catches up with a few of them to know a bit more about Sowcar Janaki, who passed away on Friday, and understand what makes her art timeless.
Actor-politician Khushbu Sundar met the veteran on the sets of her third film ever, Vetri Vizha (1989). And even back then, Khushbu asserts that Sowcar Janaki was ahead of her time. “I did not know Tamil at all, back then. Though she was warm, the best thing about her was that she was brutally honest. This honesty was never haughty. Being a woman you were expected to be nice, but respect is a two-way street, and she would ensure people around her knew it, too,” says Khushbu.
“This honesty, without malice, is something you learn from them (veterans). For a long-standing career you need to accept who you are, only then others will accept you and understand where you are coming from,” says Khushbu, who also weighs in on the veteran actor’s professional outlook that never thought screentime mattered for an actor. “She conquered people with her roles, and she was very mindful of the impact of her role.”
That’s probably why, in the 71st year of her cinema career, Sowcar Janaki decided to work in R Kannan’s Biskoth (2020), which was, incidentally, her 400th film. She played a grieving grandmother seeking a companionship. “Yesteryear actresses wouldn’t get to play roles which had socially unacceptable characteristics, but in Puthiya Paravai (1964), taking on a character who is always inebriated was brave of her, as other minds would have thought of how this will affect their future work,” points out Kannan, reminiscing what she shared with him about working in the 1964 classic. “She told me that, while shooting for ‘Partha Nyabagam Illayo’ from Puthiya Paravai (1964), everything was ready, but she did not like the costumes as she felt that these costumes wouldn’t fit her character. So she had to convince Sivaji Ganesan and others to let her go back home to get the right sari, because in her mind this song would stand the test of time,” recalls the director.
One character that would definitely stand the test of time is Sowcar Janaki’s role as Chilakamma in Samsaram Oka Chadurangam (1987). It was this character that inspired director BV Nandini Reddy to cast her in what became the veteran’s last onscreen role in Anni Manchi Sakunamule (2023). “In Telugu, there is a word called chanuvu which is attributed to anyone who is given a lot of respect, because they carry themselves with a sense of honesty and integrity. When I met her, the character aligned with how she was in real life: Calling a spade, a spade,” recalls Nandini. The director adds, “Her passion for her work beats everyone. When another actor was performing, she would think of how she can perform a notch better. She was the absolute professional, by way of being meticulous. She was punctual and passionate about her work, and even outside of her work that meticulousness didn’t fade. She lived her life that way.”
This behaviour not just gained her respect from peers but also people who were decades junior to her. Divya Vijay, currently a vice president at Zee Studios, was the executive producer on Anni Manchi Sakunamule (2023), and she uses the best label to describe Sowcar Janaki: a trooper. “Janaki amma had to travel alone on a car, from Mysuru to Coonoor, and that involved travelling through the Bandipur National Park, where there was a risk of encountering the big cat predators. But when she arrived, the first thing I noticed was the bright smile she had. Her independent nature also resulted in her bringing her own utensils, because she cooked her own food anywhere. But this also resulted in the team consuming some of the tastiest dishes ever. One could write songs about her rasam,” says Divya, recalling how Sowcar Janaki’s life was a lesson in how to be in cinema. “When I started my career back in 2018, there weren’t many woman executive producers in the business, and I was reminded of the times when Janaki amma entered cinema, where it was considered an anomaly. In fact, she was married when she entered cinema, and even that was an added anomaly. From her I was able to learn that until and unless you ask for a seat at the table, you wouldn’t be given one. I learnt that I had to be my strongest voice, and to be my strongest supporter, and that it was okay to take up space. And at that age, she did not have to work for money, it was purely her passion for cinema.”
This passion was something that was seen in all the languages she worked in. Known for her collaborations with the late Kannada legend Dr Rajkumar, she extended the relationship with his son, the late Puneeth Rajkumar, as well. In director Dinesh Baboo-Puneeth’s Abhi (2003), Sowcar Janaki portrayed the role of Ramya’s grandmother. The director explains that he wanted to cast actor Janaki in the film, as only she would be able to portray the pious faith of a Muslim woman. “For her, cinema was cinema. She didn’t bother about the kind of role she played as long as it had a strong impact, and it was something that would be remembered,” he says.
Art has the power to not just create memories, but also keep such creators in memory, and it is safe to say that Sowcar Janaki will always be remembered for this very thing. She saw cinema as cinema. Nothing more. Nothing less.
