HYDERABAD: Well-known playback singer Vani Jairam, who sung over 10,000 songs for films in as many as 19 languages, including Telugu, was found dead with a head injury at her flat in Chennai on Saturday. She was 78. She was awarded Padma Bhushan recently.
Vani Jairam, who was popular in Bollywood too, began her singing career with 'Guddi' in Hindi in 1971. It was a breakthrough for Vani Jairam as she was always interested in singing.
The songs of 'Shankarabharanam' in Telugu, which was directed by K Viswanath in 1979, brought her national recognition. The film became popular for the songs. Incidentally, K Viswanath passed away on February 2. The song 'Ennenno janmalabandham' for 'Pooja' released in 1975 was a huge hit. Vani Jairam's voice earned her millions of fans.
After she finished graduation, she got a bank job in Tamil Nadu, but came to Secunderabad on transfer in 1967. After her marriage, she moved to Mumbai in 1969, where she pursued her interests in singing.
In 1979, she became more popular with her work for 'Meera' in Hindi. In an interview, she had said though she went to meet Lata Mangeshkar, the reigning singer then, but could not get an appointment. The song 'Bhole re papihara' in which Jaya Bachchan featured in 'Guddi' brought Vani a lot of recognition. Among the other films in Hindi, she lent her voice for movies like 'Pakeezah', 'Khoon Ka Badla Khoon' and 'Solva Savan'. Born in Vellore in Tamil Nadu on November 30, 1945, Vani Jairam, who learnt Carnatic music, always had an inclination for singing.
It was in 1973 that she made her journey into Telugu cinema recording for the film 'Abhmanavanthulu'. Other Telugu films for which she sang included 'Gharshana', 'Swati Kiranam', 'Sruthilayalu', 'Premalayam', 'Mangamma gari Manavadu', 'Seethakoka Chiluka', 'Maro Charitra' and 'Yavvanam Katesindhi'. She sung thousands of devotional songs.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has condoled the death of Vani Jairam. "Her death is a big loss to the world of cinema and music," he said, conveying his condolences to the bereaved family.
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