Sankaramanchi Janaki (born 12 December 1931), widely known as Sowcar Janaki, is an Indian actress known for her works in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

, Telugu,

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

and

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

films. In a career spanning over seven decades, Janaki has appeared in nearly 390 films. She also performed on stage in over 300 shows and was a radio artist during her earlier years. She is the recipient of two

Nandi Awards The Nandi Awards are annual awards presented by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to recognise excellence in Telugu cinema, theatre, and television, as well as lifetime achievements in Indian cinema. The awards are named after the monolithic ...

, a

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government ...

, and India's fourth-highest civilian award,

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

. Her younger sister, Krishna Kumari, was also a noted actress. She was featured in the first Kannada pan-Indian film '' Mahishasura Mardini'' alongside

Dr. Rajkumar Singanalluru Puttaswamaiah Muthuraj (24 April 1929 – 12 April 2006), better known by his stage name Dr. Rajkumar, was an Indian actor and singer who worked in Kannada cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and versatile actors in the his ...

, which was released in 1959, making her one of the first leading pan-Indian actresses. At 93, she is the oldest living Tamil actress.

Personal life

Janaki was born on 12 December 1931. She is the elder daughter of Tekumalla Venkoji Rao and Sachi Devi of

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry ( ), officially Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and district headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the fifth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the district of Rajahmu ...

. Her younger sister, Krishna Kumari, is a noted actress. She was born in a

-speaking Madhva Brahmin family. She completed her early studies at Gauhati University in Assam and received an

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

. She has two daughters and a son. Her granddaughter, Vaishnavi Aravind is also an actress who appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and a few Malayalam films, starting in 1987.

Film career

Sowcar Janaki has been a prominent radio artist at "Aakashvani Madras" from the age of 14. She has also acted in Telugu plays penned by prominent authors like Dr. P.V. Rajamannar, Dr. Aarudra Padmaraju Atreya and others. She made her debut at the age of 18, after her marriage, in 1949 with the film Shavukaru. She became a popular actress with hits in various languages between 1949 and 1975. Janaki had stated in an interview with Chitra Lakshmanan, that when she entered the movie world, there was V.N. Janaki (MGR's third wife) playing heroine roles. As such, to distinguish her from V.N. Jankai, producers came to tagged ''Sowcar'' in front of her name. Her lead heroine roles in ''Valayapathy'' (Tamil), ''Rojulu Marayi'' (Telugu), then in Tamil, such as ''Naan Kanda Sorgam'', ''Kaviya Thalavi'', ''Bhagya Lakshmi'', ''Pallum Pazhamum'', ''Paar Magale Paar'', ''Thayikku Thalaimagan'', ''Kumudham'', ''Panam Paadithavan'', ''Puthiya Paravai'', ''Bama Vijayam'', ''Oli Villaku'', ''Ethir Neechal'', ''Maanavan'', ''Uyardha Manidhan'', ''Nimarundhu Nil'', ''Thunaivan'', ''Needhi'', Kaliyuga Kannan and '' Iru Kodugal'' (Tamil), with Kannada films such as ''Devakaanika'', ''Saaku Magalu'', ''Sadarame'', ''Thayige Thakka Maga'' received popular recognition. Janaki's Malayalam debut ''Schoolmaster'' (1964) and with a film in Hindi - ''Teen Bahuraniyan''. She worked with famous directors such as Dada Mirasi and K. Balachander. Janaki moved to supporting roles after 1975 and her performances in Tamil films like ''Cinema Paithiyam'', ''Thee'', ''Thillu Mullu'', ''Vetri Vizha'', ''Puthu Puthu Arthangal'', ''Kaanche'' and her performances in Telugu language films like Bezwada Bebbuli, Tayaramma Bangaraya, Samsaram Oka Chadarangam were widely appreciated. She even acted in Hindi films in supporting roles in Dosti Dushmani and Prem Geet. She served as jury member twice for the National Indian Films awards committee and as chair person for State Telugu Films awards committee. She had essayed wide variety of roles throughout her 74 years career. The only other actors to have had such long careers in the field of acting in India were Dev Anand, Pran, Ashok Kumar, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Kamini Kaushal However, by 2016, her career span has overtaken most of the actors and she remains one of the few Indian actors with the longest career span. She was the most comfortable on being paired with Sreekanth,

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred as Kaadhal Mannan (King of Romance) for his romantic roles in films. G ...

and

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram. Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001), better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, was an Indian actor and film producer. He was mainly active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th centur ...

repeatedly in Tamil films. She quoted in an interview on her pairing with Sivaji Ganesan, "He would compliment me in public using superlatives. I'd be thrilled! We would always rehearse together. If my character needed a little over-acting, he would tone down his and vice versa. It was a challenge working with the great actor! If they remember Sivaji Ganesan, they remember me". She has done over 300 films in Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Telugu. She acted in supporting roles in films with M. G.Ramachandran as lead hero like Panam Padaithavan, Petralthan Pillaiya, Thaikku Thalaimagan, Oli Vilakku. She actively participated in drama troupes and did live drama shows right from 1960, despite being a busy film star and continued doing so till 1995. In many of the dramas, she worked with co-star Srikanth. She was paired alongside N. T. Rama Rao in her first movie '' Shavukaru''. She acted with A. Nageswara Rao, Jaggayya,

, M.G.R,

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 6 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the hist ...

, V.K. Ramaswamy, Major Sunderrajan, Nagesh, Srikanth, AVM Rajan,

, Ravichandran,

Kamal Haasan Parthasarathy Srinivasan (born 7 November 1954), known professionally as Kamal Haasan, is an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. Considered as one of the most accomplished actors of Indian Cinema, Haas ...

, Rajnikanth, Ajithkumar and

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

. She has performed on stage in 3 popular plays, written and directed by K. Balachander, in over 300 shows.

Awards

She has received several awards. Some notable ones are given below: * Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South (1984) *Mahanati Savithri Award in 1985 *Honorary Doctorate from World University, Arizona for Excellence in her chosen field in 1985. *Indian Express Dyonara Golden Award in 1989. *Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004 *Dr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000 *Sri Krishna Devaraya Award, Karnataka *

by Tamil Nadu government in 1969-1970. * Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award - MGR Award in 1990. * Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress, 1970 for '' Iru Kodugal'' * Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress for Samsaram Oka Chadarangam,1987(in Telugu) * Nandi Award for Best Supporting Actress for Amoolyam,2007 * SIIMA Lifetime Achievement Award (2013) * Rajyotsava Award by

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

(2015) *Streeratna Awards (2019) *Wonder Women Awards (2019) as Evergreen Entertainer of Indian Cinema * Puratchi Thalaivi Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Special Kalaimamani Award (2020) by the

Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu () is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Const ...

(2022) by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Janaki, Sowcar Living people Indian film actresses Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners Actresses from Rajahmundry Telugu actresses Tamil actresses Nandi Award winners Actresses in Telugu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2015 Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil television South Indian International Movie Awards winners Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Kalaimamani Award 1931 births