Chennai: Popular playback singer Vani Jayaram with a career spanning over five decades passed away in Chennai on Saturday. Vani Jayaram has sung in 19 Indian languages including Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Bengali and Tulu.
Vani Jayaram has sung over 10,000 songs including devotionals and private albums. She has also performed several solo concerts across the world.
On the Republic Day, she was also announced as the recipent of Padma Bhushan 2023, the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India.
Vani Jayaram also bagged National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer thrice. She has also won state government awards for her singing from states including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.
She completed her 50 years as a playback singer in 2021.
She made her debut through the Hindi feature film 'Guddi' in 1971. She recorded three songs for the film and soon became a household name in India. Later, she shifted back to Chennai and continued to give back-to-back hits in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam industries.
In Hindi, songs including "Bole Re Papihara", "Humko Mann Ki Shakti Dena", "More Saajan Souten Ghar", "Pyar Kabhi Kam Na Karna Sanam" and "Maine Tumhe Paa Liya" gave her widespread recognition.
She is also known for her songs including "Malligai En Mannan", "Orey Naal Unainaan" and "Atho Vaaraandi" in Tamil.
Vani Jayaram worked with composers including M.S. Vishwanathan, Ilaiyaraaja and KV Mahadevan.
Vani Jayaram was born as Kalaivani in Vellore to Duraisamy and Padmavathi on November 30, 1945. She married her husband Jayaram and moved into a family which supported music. Her mother-in-law Padma Swaminathan was a famous Carnatic singer and a social activist. Later, she moved to Mumbai and learned vocal forms including Ghazal and Bhajan.
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