S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (23 April 1938 – 11 July 2026) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. Fondly known as Janaki Amma (lit. Mother Janaki) and described as the Nightingale of South India. Janaki is considered one of the greatest and most influential singers in the history of Indian music. She was widely acclaimed as the "Queen of Expression and Modulation".
Janaki recorded over 48,000 songs in films, albums, television, and radio, which includes solos, duets, chorus and title tracks in over 20 Indian languages as well as a few foreign languages, with highest number of songs in Kannada. She was one of the most versatile singers in India.
Janaki began her singing career with the Tamil film Vidhiyin Vilayattu (1957) at the age of 19 and recorded songs in six different languages in the same year. Her career spanned over six decades until 2016, when she announced her retirement from singing for films and stage appearances. However, she returned in 2018, singing for the Tamil film Pannaadi. She was active in the music industry for almost 60 years.
She won 4 National Film Awards and 33 different State Film Awards. She was a recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore, the Kalaimamani award from the Tamil Nadu State Government, and the Rajyotsava Prashasti award from the Government of Karnataka. In 2013, she refused to accept the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award of India. She felt the honor came "too late" in her career. Furthermore, she expressed disappointment over the lack of representation and due recognition for South Indian artists in the national awards list.
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