When veteran playback singer S Janaki recently announced her retirement, it was because she wanted to “rest and relax”. However, things took a nasty turn when rumours of the singer’s death surfaced online. Some people had misunderstood the announcement, and not realised that the only thing the singer, popularly known as the ‘Nightingale of the South’, had quit was singing.
Soon, social media was flooded with posts of condolence for the singer’s alleged passing. At the time of publishing, social media users still seemed to be under the impression that the legend had passed away.
SP Balasubrahmanyam, who has collaborated with S Janaki on many songs, slammed these reports on his official Facebook account.
“She is hale and healthy. Better than ever,” SPB wrote.
Following this, S Janaki’s spokesperson too confirmed that the singer was “alive and well”.
Sadly, this is not the first instance of a celebrity being the target of death rumours. Earlier this month, KR Vijaya was presumed dead by the internet. Manorama, another aging celebrity, was the target of two such hoaxes, before she passed away last year.
Read: 5 Celebrities Who Survived Death By Media
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S Janaki has had quite the prolific career. The 78-year-old veteran singer has sung more than 48,000 songs in various languages. She has also won four National Awards and 32 State Film Awards. A native of Pallapatla village, Guntur, Janaki began her singing career in 1957 with the Tamil movie, Vidhiyin Vilayattu. In the ’60s and ’70s, she worked with the finest musicians of the country, across languages. Her songs with Ilaiyaraaja and duets with SP Balasubramanyam became instant hits and are still immensely popular.
S Janaki had refused the Padma Bhushan award in 2013 saying that it had come “a little too late”. Aalpanathile Thenum Vayambum, a book about her life and music, was written by the poet and critic Abhilash Pudukad, and published last year.
Feature Image Courtesy: NDTV