Chennai: Legendary Music Director Ilaiyaraaja on Sunday he praised S Janaki as a playback singer who “continued to prove her talent through her hard work” despite going through many “unbearably painful events” in her personal life.
Ilaiyaraaja is credited with bringing out the best of Janaki’s talent by giving her songs of varied nature – her expressive modulation shined like no other in the folk and country themed songs. Though Janaki worked for several music directors in her long career spanning over half a century, it was for Ilaiyaraaja’s songs that she effortlessly translated his music into her own voice.
Ilaiyaraaja used it to convey deep sadness and heartbreak in iconic tunes and it seamlessly matched his demanding tunes – be it playful solos, deeply classical and conveying love, deep sadness and heartbreak.
“She went through a lot of heartache and unbearable painful events in her personal life. The personal life of some composers and geniuses in the world of music across the globe has often been very sad. Janaki Amma also endured a lot. But she proved her mettle through her talent, again and again in every song,” said Ilaiyaraaja.
“She was undisputed,” said the music composer and drew a parallel between himself and Janak, saying that both were hard workers. “She also stuck to the song I taught her. Her hard work was equal to my hard work, maybe even more,” he said in a video, his voice choking.
— Ilaiyaraaja (@ilaiyaraaja) July 12, 2026
Janaki also recorded thousands of duets in many languages with her “brother” SP Balasubrahmanyam. She had also shared the stage with legends like PB Shrinivas even before she started dominating the film industry.
The Ilaiyaraaja-S Janaki-S P Balasubrahmanyam combination became one of the most successful trios, defining the soundscape of Tamil cinema for decades together, featuring soulful folklore-based melodies and romantic duets.
Janaki was married to V Ramprasad, who died in 1997. She lost her son in January this year and was living with her niece.
