Vani Jayaram

30 Nov, 1945 | Hyderabad

Singer

Biography

Vani Jairam was a prominent Indian female playback singer. She had performed music in a variety of Indian tongues especially in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. Apart from this , she had performed ghazals, light and pop songs, as well as some well-known folk songs, in addition to classical music in the Carnatic and Hindustani forms. . She was honoured with numerous accolades, including three national honours for "Best Female Playback Singer" for the song from the films Apoorva Raagangal, Swathi Kiranam, and Sankarabharanam that startled the entire country. Personal life Vani Jayaram was born in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, in a family of musicians. Her mother is the disciple of Ranga Ramunaja Iyengar, a great veena exponent. Kadaloor Sreenivasa Iyengar, who taught Vani’s sister music, was fascinated by her observation and grasping power. He taught her a few Dikshitar kritis when she was hardly five. The fifth daughter in a family of six daughters and three sons, Vani always secretly yearned for a career in film playback singing. Considered a child prodigy, Vani Jayaram claims to have recognised the different ragas of Indian classical music before the age of five. Her voice was first heard on All India Radio, Madras, at the age of eight. Vani Jayaram studied Carnatic music under the tutelage of Kadalur Srinivasa Iyengar, T. R. Balasubramanian, and R. S. Mani. Her Hindustani light-classical music guru was Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan. After her marriage to Jayaram, she settled in Mumbai, a city where she realised her dream. Career Life In 1971, she realised her childhood ambition of becoming a film playback singer when the veteran Hindi film music director, Vasant Desai, chose her voice for the Hindi feature film Guddi. She recorded three songs for Guddi, including Bol Re Papi Hara, a song based on the Hindustani raga Miyan Malhar that instantly made her a household name in India. For that song, she was awarded the Tansen Samman, Lions International's Best Promising Singer, All India Cinegoers Association, and All India Filmgoers Association awards for the Best Playback Singer in 1971. Vani went on to sing a few songs for each of the music directors of Hindi cinema, including Chitragupt, Naushad, Madan Mohan, O.P. Nayyar (several songs from the film Khoon Ka Badla Khoon, including duets with Mohammed Rafi and also with Uttara Kelkar and Pushpa Pagdhare), R.D. Burman (a duet with Mukesh in the film Chhalia), Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, and Jaidev. Her songs in the 1979 film Meera, composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar and starring M.S. Subbulakshmi, won her the Filmfare Award. Vani recorded her first Tamil song for the Tamil film Thaiyum Seiyum, for S.M. Subbaiah Naidu, in the year 1973. Around 1974, she shifted her base to Chennai and soon became a sought-after singer in Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam cinema. Besides Hindi and Tamil, Vani Jayaram has recordings in other Indian languages. These include some songs in Gujarati, Marathi, Marwari, Haryanvi, Bengali, and Tulu, and a huge repertoire in Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, and Oriya. For her work in some of these languages, she has been awarded many prestigious awards; among them are: Best Female Playback Singer for the states of Gujarat (1975), Tamil Nadu (1980), and Orissa (1984). One of her most famous Marathi songs, "Runanubandhachya," is a duet with the celebrated classical Hindustani singer Kumar Gandharva. This song was composed by Vani's mentor Vasant Desai for the Marathi drama "Dev Deenaghari Dhaavlaa." The lyrics of this song were written by Bal Kolhatkar. She is also the youngest recipient of the Sangeet Peet Samman. Death Vani Jairam won several awards for her great contribution to the industry. She was recently named the recipient of the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest national honour, died suddenly on February 4, 2023. According to sources, she suffered a skull injury when she passed away at her flat in Chennai's Nungambakkam area on Haddows Street.