Vani Jayaram
Encyclopedia
Vani Jayaram the unmatched nightingle of India, is a prominent India
n female playback singer
. She has recorded more than 8,000 songs in 14 different languages including Tamil
, Telugu
, Malayalam, Kannada
, Marathi
and Hindi
. She has thrice won the National Film Awards
for Best Female Playback Singer
.
in 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 to be a child prodigy, Vani Jayaram claims to have recognized 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 classical music
guru was Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.
After her marriage to Jayaram she settled in Mumbai
, where she realized her dream.
chose her voice for the Hindi feature film Guddi
. She recorded three songs for Guddi
, Bol Re Papi Hara a song based on the Hindustani raga Miyan Malhar, instantly made her an household name of India. For that song she was awarded the Tansen Samman (for best classical-based song in a Hindi film), the Lions International Best Promising Singer award, the All India Cinegoers Association award, and the All India Film-goers Association award for the Best Playback Singer in 1971. She went on to sing a few songs each for music directors of Hindi cinema, including Chitragupt
, Naushad
(a classical song in Pakeezah and a duet with Asha Bhosle in Aaina), Madan Mohan (a duet with Kishore Kumar in the film Ek Mutthi Aasmaan), 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
(a duet with Manna Dey in Parinay and a solo in Solwa Saawan). Her songs in the film Meera
(1979), composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar (not to be confused with Meera
(1945), starring M. S. Subbulakshmi
), won her the Filmfare Award.
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 languages of India. 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 states of Gujarat (1975), Tamil Nadu (1980) and Orissa (1984).
One of her most famous Marathi songs, "Runanubandhachya", is a duet with the classical Hindustani singer Kumar Gandharva
. This song was composed by Vani's mentor Vasant Desai for a Marathi drama called Dev Deenaghari Dhaavlaa. The song's lyrics were written by Bal Kolhatkar.
of 1975, for her work in M. S. Viswanathan
's Apoorva Raagangal
. Shankarabharanam (Telugu), the film scored by K. V. Mahadevan
, gave Vani Jayaram her second National Award as Best Playback Singer of 1980. Once again, she was awarded her third National Award for Best Playback Singer of 1991 for K. V. Mahadevan's Swathi Kiranam
.
Her songs in the Pandit Ravi Shankar scored film Meera
brought her the Film World (1979) Cine Herald (1979) and Filmfare Award (1980) for Best Playback Singer
for "Mere To Giridhar Gopal".
She was awarded Tanzen Award in 1972, which she won for "Bole Re Pappihara" (from the film Guddi), one of the most popular songs in her career.
She is also the youngest artist to be awarded the Sangeet Peet Samman.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n female playback singer
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
. She has recorded more than 8,000 songs in 14 different languages including Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
, Malayalam, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. She has thrice won the National Film Awards
National Film Awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it is administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.Every year, a national panel...
for Best Female Playback Singer
National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
.
Personal life and background
Vani Jayaram was born in VelloreVellore
Vellore It is considered one of the oldest cities in South India and lies on the banks of the Palar river on the site of Vellore Fort. The city lies between Chennai and Bangalore and the Temple towns of Thiruvannamalai and Tirupati...
in Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, in a family of musicians. Her mother is the disciple of Ranga Ramunaja Iyengar, a great veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
exponent. Kadaloor Sreenivasa Iyengar, who taught Vani’s sister music, was fascinated by her observation and grasping power. He taught her a few Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar
Muthuswami Dikshitar is a South Indian poet and composer and is one of the Musical Trinity of Carnatic music...
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 to be a child prodigy, Vani Jayaram claims to have recognized the different ragas of Indian classical music before the age of five. Her voice was first heard on All India Radio
All India Radio
All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...
, Madras, at the age of eight.
Vani Jayaram studied Carnatic music
Carnatic music
Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...
under the tutelage of Kadalur Srinivasa Iyengar, T. R. Balasubramanian and R. S. Mani. Her Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music
Hindustani classical music is the Hindustani or North Indian style of Indian classical music found throughout the northern Indian subcontinent. The style is sometimes called North Indian Classical Music or Shāstriya Sangeet...
guru was Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.
After her marriage to Jayaram she settled in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, where she realized her dream.
Career
In 1971, she realized her childhood ambition of becoming a film playback singer when Hindi film music director Vasant DesaiVasant Desai
Vasant Desai was a Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram film, like Do Aankhen Barah Haath , Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje , Vijay Bhatt's Goonj Uthi Shehnai and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Guddi .-Early life:He born in 1912 into a wealthy family in Sonwad village,...
chose her voice for the Hindi feature film Guddi
Guddi
Guddi is a 1971 film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and written by Gulzar. It starred Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Utpal Dutt. It is Jaya Bachchan 's career making film in which she plays a school girl obsessed with the actor Dharmendra, who plays himself. She earned a Filmfare nomination as...
. She recorded three songs for Guddi
Guddi
Guddi is a 1971 film directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and written by Gulzar. It starred Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan and Utpal Dutt. It is Jaya Bachchan 's career making film in which she plays a school girl obsessed with the actor Dharmendra, who plays himself. She earned a Filmfare nomination as...
, Bol Re Papi Hara a song based on the Hindustani raga Miyan Malhar, instantly made her an household name of India. For that song she was awarded the Tansen Samman (for best classical-based song in a Hindi film), the Lions International Best Promising Singer award, the All India Cinegoers Association award, and the All India Film-goers Association award for the Best Playback Singer in 1971. She went on to sing a few songs each for music directors of Hindi cinema, including Chitragupt
Chitragupt
Chitragupta Shrivastava , better known by his first name alone, was an Indian film music director of the 1960s.-Career:...
, Naushad
Naushad
Naushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
(a classical song in Pakeezah and a duet with Asha Bhosle in Aaina), Madan Mohan (a duet with Kishore Kumar in the film Ek Mutthi Aasmaan), 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
Chhalia
Chhalia is a 1960 Hindi film. Directed by Manmohan Desai it stars Raj Kapoor, Nutan, Pran, Rehman and Shobhna Samarth. Raj Kapoor plays his stereotyped "simple guy with a heart of gold" role yet again in this film....
), Kalyanji Anandji
Kalyanji Anandji
Kalyanji Anandji is a name used by Indian composer duo known for its work on Hindi film soundtracks, particularly action potboilers in the 1970s. The name comes from first names of the two Gujarati brothers that formed the duo, Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah...
, Laxmikant Pyarelal
Laxmikant Pyarelal
Laxmikant-Pyarelal were a popular Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma . They composed music for about 635 Hindi movies from 1963 to 1998, working for almost all notable filmmakers including Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Feroze Khan, B.R...
, and Jaidev
Jaidev
Jaidev Hindi:जयदेव वर्मा , was a music composer in Bollywood films, most known for his work in films: Hum Dono , Reshma Aur Shera , Prem Parbat and Gharonda ....
(a duet with Manna Dey in Parinay and a solo in Solwa Saawan). Her songs in the film Meera
Meera (1979 film)
-Awards and Nominations:* 1980 Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer - Won - Vani Jairam for "Mere To Giridhar Gopal"-Box office:1970's being the time of formula films in Indian Cinema and with "angry young man" Amitabh Bachchan overshadowing everything, this non-mainstream movie didn't...
(1979), composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar (not to be confused with Meera
Meera (1945 film)
Meera is a 1945 Tamil-language film starring M. S. Subbulakshmi, Kumari Kamala, T. S. Baliah and Chittoor V. Nagaiah based on the life of the devotional singer and dancer Meera. The film was directed by American film director Ellis R. Dungan.-Plot:...
(1945), starring M. S. Subbulakshmi
M. S. Subbulakshmi
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi , also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. She is the first Indian musician to receive...
), won her the Filmfare Award.
Around 1974, she shifted her base to Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
and soon became a sought-after singer in Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cinema. Besides Hindi and Tamil, Vani Jayaram has recordings in other languages of India. These include some songs in Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
, Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
, Marwari
Marwari language
The Marwari language , also variously Marvari, Marwadi, Marvadi), is spoken in the Indian state of Rajasthan. Marwari is also found in the neighboring state of Gujarat and Haryana and in Eastern Pakistan...
, Haryanvi, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and Tulu
Tulu language
The Tulu language |?]]]) is a Dravidian language spoken by 1.95 million native speakers mainly in the southwest part of Indian state Karnataka known as Tulu Nadu. In India, 1.72 million people speak it as their mother tongue , increased by 10 percent over the 1991 census...
, and a huge repertoire in Malayalam
Malayalam language
Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...
, Kannada
Kannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
, Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
and Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
. For her work in some of these languages, she has been awarded many prestigious awards, among them are: Best Female Playback Singer for states of Gujarat (1975), Tamil Nadu (1980) and Orissa (1984).
One of her most famous Marathi songs, "Runanubandhachya", is a duet with the classical Hindustani singer Kumar Gandharva
Kumar Gandharva
Kumar Gandharva or Shivaputra Siddharamayya Komkallimath was a Hindustani classical singer, famous for his unique vocal style, refusal to be bound by the tradition of any gharana, and his innovative genius...
. This song was composed by Vani's mentor Vasant Desai for a Marathi drama called Dev Deenaghari Dhaavlaa. The song's lyrics were written by Bal Kolhatkar.
Awards
Vani Jayaram was chosen for the Indian President's National Film Award for Best Female Playback SingerNational Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer
The National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer winners are given below. Lata Mangeshkar is the oldest winner in this category, whereas Anjali Marathe is the youngest winner; while K. S. Chithra been awarded for the maximum number of times .-Superlatives:...
of 1975, for her work in M. S. Viswanathan
M. S. Viswanathan
Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan , is a Tamil music director. He is popularly known as "Mellisai Mannar" . His major works over the past five decades have been in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films...
's Apoorva Raagangal
Apoorva Raagangal
Apoorva Raagangal is a 1975 Tamil film directed by K. Balachander. This film was controversial upon release as it examines relationships between people with wide age gaps, which challenged Indian social mores. The film went on to win the National Film Awards in 1976...
. Shankarabharanam (Telugu), the film scored by K. V. Mahadevan
K. V. Mahadevan
Krishnankoil Venkatachalam Mahadevan was a South Indian music composer.-Career:K.V.Mahadevan was born in Tamil Iyer family in 1918 in Krishnancoil, Kanyakumari district. A contemporary of M. S. Viswanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy, KVM has scored music for over 600 films, spanning four decades, after...
, gave Vani Jayaram her second National Award as Best Playback Singer of 1980. Once again, she was awarded her third National Award for Best Playback Singer of 1991 for K. V. Mahadevan's Swathi Kiranam
Swathi Kiranam
Swathi Kiranam is a 1992 Telugu Musical hit film directed by Dr.K.Viswanath. The movie starred Mammootty, Master Manjunath, and Radhika. The movie is about an egoistic music teacher unable to tolerate the extraordinary talent of his prodigious young disciple.-Plot:The film starts with a shabby old...
.
Her songs in the Pandit Ravi Shankar scored film Meera
Meera (1979 film)
-Awards and Nominations:* 1980 Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer - Won - Vani Jairam for "Mere To Giridhar Gopal"-Box office:1970's being the time of formula films in Indian Cinema and with "angry young man" Amitabh Bachchan overshadowing everything, this non-mainstream movie didn't...
brought her the Film World (1979) Cine Herald (1979) and Filmfare Award (1980) for Best Playback Singer
Filmfare Best Female Playback Award
The Filmfare Best Female Playback Award is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female playback singer who has delivered an outstanding performance in a film song....
for "Mere To Giridhar Gopal".
She was awarded Tanzen Award in 1972, which she won for "Bole Re Pappihara" (from the film Guddi), one of the most popular songs in her career.
She is also the youngest artist to be awarded the Sangeet Peet Samman.
External links
- Official website
- http://malayalasangeetham.info/php/createSongIndex.php?encode=utf&stype=song_start&stype2=movie&stype3=singers&stype4=musician&stype5=writers&stype6=raga&stype7=genre&stype8=year&stype9=clip_owners&stype10=videos_upl&stype11=lyrowner&stype12=lyrics_avail&stype13=clips&stype14=videos&stype15=state&stype16=comments&stype17=actors&stype19=mal_lyrics_avail&stype20=karaokes&stype21=notations&stype22=karaoke_owner&stype23=song_string&txt=&txt2=&txt3=vani+jairam&txt18=&txt4=&txt5=&txt6=&txt7=&txt8=&txt17=&txt23=&txt12=&txt19=&txt13=&txt14=&txt20=&txt21=&txt15=&txt16=&txt9=&txt10=&txt22=&txt11=&page_size=25&display_singer=on&display_movie=on&display_raga=on&display_musician=on&display_lyricist=on&display_year=on&display_preview=on&display_watch=on&submit=Find+SongsAll 583 Malayalam songs of Vani Jairam]
- Vani Jairam at MSI