Janaki Sabesh is an Indian media professional, actor, model, storyteller, author of children's book, theatre and voiceover artist. Throughout her film career, she has played the "screen mother" to several leading actors, appearing predominantly in Tamil and Telugu movies.

Early life

Janaki was born in Bangalore. She did her initial schooling in

Carmel School, Kolkata Carmel Convent (Primary and High) School is an all-girl Catholic institution located in Kolkata, India. The school is a Christian school established and administered by the Apostolic Carmel Education Society of West Bengal in the Roman Cathol ...

and then from DTEA Senior Secondary School, New Delhi. She holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Delhi and a master's degree in mass communication from Jamia Millia, Delhi.

Career

In 1991, Janaki Sabesh assisted

Simi Garewal Simi Garewal (born Simrita Garewal; 17 October 1947) is an Indian actress, director, producer and a talk show host. She is the recipient of two Filmfare awards and an ITA Award. She is known for her work in Hindi films like ''Do Badan'', '' Saa ...

with her documentary on Rajiv Gandhi called ''India's Rajiv''. She made her professional acting debut in the movie ''

Minsara Kanavu ''Minsara Kanavu'' () is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film that was co-written and directed by Rajiv Menon. The film stars Arvind Swamy, Prabhu Deva, and Kajol in her Tamil debut, and revolves around Priya (Kajol), a ...

'' starring Kajol and

Arvind Swamy Arvind Swamy (born 18 June 1970) is an Indian actor, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster ...

, in which she played a nun. She later went on to act in Shankar's magnum opus '' Jeans'', where she played Aishwarya Rai's mother. Since then, she has acted in over 25 movies, including the blockbuster hits ''

Minnale ''Minnale'' () is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romance film directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The story was written by Menon and Vipul D. Shah, starring Madhavan, Abbas, Reema Sen (in her Tamil debut), Vivek and Nagesh. The film tells the ...

'' and ''

Ghilli ''Ghilli'' () is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language romantic action masala film directed by Dharani and produced by A. M. Rathnam. It is a remake of the Telugu-language film ''Okkadu'' (2003). The film stars Vijay, Trisha and Prakash Raj with Ashi ...

'', often playing the role of a mother. She has modelled for leading brands like Cadburys, Pepsodent, KFJ, NAC jewellers, Chakra Gold Tea, Jansons Dhoti to name a few. She has also appeared in a

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

titled '' Black Sheep'' on the YouTube channel of Stray Factory, Rascalas.Janaki's work as a theatre artist includes plays with Chennai-based theatre groups, Crea- Shakti & Madras Players.Janaki Sabesh's engagement with children began when she produced an audio cassette “The Learning Train” (1995) that simplified the world of numbers through story and songs. She also runs her own storytelling initiative, Golpo - Tales Unlimited. The word ''Golpo'' in Bengali means "story". Her sessions are an interactive mix of narration, music and movement. She also conducts workshops for parents, teachers and students which centre on motivation and the productive uses of storytelling. Janaki Sabesh turned an author in 2018 with her first picture book, "The Jungle Storytelling Festival" published by Tulika in 9 languages

Selected filmography

References

Press articles

* *https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ghilli-amma-childrens-writer-meet-janaki-sabesh-her-new-avatar-86615 *https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/karadis-tales-of-learning/article18970654.ece *http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2017/aug/23/happiness-is-not-elusive-anymore-1647306.html *https://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/mollywood/181217/sabash-janaki.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabesh, Janaki Indian film actresses Living people Actresses from Bangalore Year of birth missing (living people) Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema