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 Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

movies.

Early life

Janaki was born in Bangalore. She did her initial schooling in Carmel School, Kolkata 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 with her documentary on

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to bec ...

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 Kajol Devgan (née Mukherjee; born 5 August 1974), known mononymously as Kajol, is an Indian actress. Described in the media as one of the most successful actresses of Hindi cinema, she is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six ...

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 Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or Dungaree (fabric), dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis ...

'', where she played Aishwarya Rai's mother. Since then, she has acted in over 25 movies, including the blockbuster hits '' Minnale'' 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 ...

'', 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