The songstress made her debut as a playback singer in the Tamil film, Vidhiyin Vilayattu in (1957).
Our Correspondent
Prominent playback singer S Janaki bid adieu to a prolific career as a songstress with a public concert in Mysuru, Karnataka on Monday, 30 October. The 79 year old singer enjoyed a career that spanned 60 years, singing about 48,000 songs in various languages.
Janaki performed, what was her final concert, at the Manasagangotri Ampitheatre, and finished with a standing ovation from the gathered audience.
The Deccan Chronicle quoted the singer as saying, "I am happy with my career. I want to stop singing when I am doing well. This is also to make way for several young and new artistes."
Hailing from Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, Janaki began her film career in 1957 as a playback singer in the film Vidhiyin Vilayattu. She has been honoured with four National awards and 30 different State Film awards for her contribution to music.
Though she successfully sang in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam languages, Janaki never really fit into the Hindi film industry.
Her famous crossover to the Hindi film terrain was with music director Bappi Lahiri in the 1980s, when she crooned 'Yaar Bina Chain Kahan Re' for Saaheb (1985). Another Hindi song she sang was 'Hindi Boli Urdu Boli' for Swati (1986).
The singer last lent her voice for a film in 2005 for the Telugu feature Nireekshana.
