When Bollywood jived to S. Janaki’s infectious voice

S. Janaki walked into the strobe lights of Bollywood in 1985 with Bappi Lahiri’s ‘Yaar Bina Chain Kahan Re’ (Saheb), where her classical perfection met the raw, uninhabited pulse of Bombay’s disco. Her velvety rendering of the opening hook, ‘Sona nahi, chaandi nahi…’ was delivered with a unique, slightly nasal, yet incredibly sweet timbre that stood completely apart from the prevailing voices of the era. Picturised on Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh in retro star filter, the song played relentlessly on Chitrahaar and Vivid Bharati, and no wedding playlist, festival loudspeaker, or local bus journey in Northern India was complete without this youth anthem blasting through the speakers.

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Around the same time, she created a fearless synergy with Kishore Kumar in ‘Rock N Roll’ and ‘Bol Baby Bol’ (Meri Jung), which became a rage in discotheques. Composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the arrangement shifted away from Lahiri’s smooth electronic synth loops into an aggressive, brass-heavy, syncopated rock rhythm. Janaki’s rhythmic precision proved she didn’t just sing over a beat – she drove it forward.

Versatility remained the Nightingale’s calling card in Hindi cinema as well. When director K. Viswanath remade his iconic Telugu musical ‘Sankarabharanam’ into Hindi as ‘Sur Sangam’ (1985), Laxmikant-Pyarelal, handling the music, insisted on retaining Janaki’s voice. And her flawless control over the intricate taans in Prabhu More Avagun Chit Na Dharo proved she could command a strictly traditional Hindustani score. Singing alongside Anup Jalota, Janaki delivered an incredibly complex, raga-heavy bhajan.

Music observers say that in the 1980s, when there was a massive influx of South Indian production houses into Bollywood, remaking South Indian hits into Hindi, Janaki emerged as a pan-Indian voice. Her precise diction and incredible range allowed her to easily transition from classical melodies to high-energy tracks. It is said that Lahiri, during a visit to Prasada Studios, overheard Janaki’s voice by chance while she was recording a Tamil song and was bowled over by her clarity and modulation.

With Lahiri and LP, she became a defining voice of commercial Hindi cinema, but she also sang for veterans such as O.P. Nayyar and Salil Chowdhury, who praised her Hindi and Urdu pronunciation and her ability to erase her South Indian accent completely. Chowdhury would know, as he worked with her over several Malayalam films and then used her voice for ‘Dil Ka Saathi Dil’, a remake of the Malayalam hit ‘Madanolsavam’, where she readapted the hugely popular ‘Sandhye Kanneerithenthe’ as ‘Chhalke Sanjh Ke Naina’, which remains a lesser-known masterpiece for connoisseurs, and the popular duet ‘Mere Prem Ki Ragini’ with S. Yesudas.

At the same time, she accepted R.D. Burman’s challenge to sing a street-smart ‘Bataata Vada’ (Hifazat, 1987). Duetting with S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Janaki sang a tap-dancing, rhythm-heavy Mumbai street anthem. Another number with SPB that has withstood the test of time is ‘Tere Pyaar Main Hum’ (Jamai Raja).

In ‘Aakhree Raasta’ (1986), she effortlessly sang both the immensely popular romantic duet ‘Gori Ka Saajan, Sajan Ki Gori’ with Kishore Kumar and the emotionally heavy, maternal song “Toone Mera Doodh Piya Hai” with Mohammed Aziz, showing her vast dramatic range by giving voice to two rivals, Sridevi and Jayaprada.

But the song that recorded her immense emotional vulnerability for posterity is ‘Dil Mein Ho Tum’ (Satyamev Jayate, 1987). Perhaps her most soulful melody with Lahiri, Janaki’s solo version, continues to mesmerise with her haunting innocence.