Vani Jairam (Singer)

Vani Jairam (born 30 November 1945 to 4 February 2023). was an Indian playback singer in South Indian cinema. She recorded approximately 10,000 songs for playback in over a thousand Indian movies. She also took part in several solo concerts both in India and abroad, as well as thousands of devotionals and private records. Vani has frequently been the choice of many composers throughout India from the 1970s to the late 1990s because of her vocal range and ability to easily adapt to any challenging composition. She has performed songs in 19 different Indian languages, including Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, Haryanvi, and Assamese.

Vani won the title of Best Female Playback Singer at the National Film Awards three times. She has also received state government honours from the governments of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha. Also received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South in 2012 in recognition of her contributions to South Indian film music. She received the Best Female Singer award at the NAFA 2017 celebration in New York City in July 2017.

Early Lifestyle

Vani Jairam was born in 30 November 1945 in Vellore, Madras Presidency, India. Except Vani, he is survived by his parents, 5 sisters and 3 brothers. Vani’s parents name is Duraisamy Iengar, Padmavati. Duraisamy’s full name is Vidavoor Duraisamy Iengar, who is a well-known Tamil writer. She was enrolled in his teachings by her parents, Duraisamy Iyengar-Padmavathi, who had studied under Ranga Ramunaja Iyengar and learned a few Muthuswami Dikshitar kritis from him. Later, under the direction of Kadalur Srinivas Iyengar, T. R. Balasubramanian, and R. S. Mani, she received professional training in Carnatic music.

Vani used to learn and mimic the whole orchestration of the Hindi film songs that played continuously on the Radio since she was riveted to the Radio Ceylon channel and was drawn to them. She made her first public appearance at the All India Radio in Madras when she was 8 years old. At Madras University, Vani Jairam attended  Queen Mary’s College. After finishing her studies, Vani started working for the State Bank of India in Madras. In 1967, she was moved to the Hyderabad branch.

Personal life 

Vani married into a musically inclined family. The final surviving child of F. G. Natesa Iyer was the social activist and singer of Carnatic music Padma Swaminathan. Her in-sister law’s is N. Rajam.

Death

On February 4th, 2023, Vani fell and died at the age of 77.

Career in Hindi cinema

Vani’s successful working relationship with Vasant Desai led to her debut with the  Hrishikesh Mukherjee-directed movie Guddi (1971). Vani was given the opportunity by Desai to record three songs for the movie, with “Bole Re Papihara” becoming a hit and bringing Jaya Bachchan, who played the lead part, to national attention. She received numerous honours and awards for the song, which was written in the Miyan Ki Malhar raag and displayed her mastery of classical music.

In 1971, she won 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. Since its 1971 premiere, her other song, Humko Mann Ki Shakti Dena, has been a part of school prayers and still is. She accompanied her instructor, Desai, on a state-wide tour of Maharashtra and taught several Marathi songs to schoolchildren.

Several songs by O.P. Nayyar from the 1978 film Khoon Ka Badla Khoon were sung by Jairam, including duets with Mohammed Rafi, Uttara Kelkar, and Pushpa Pagdhare. In Jurm Aur Sazaa, she performed Laxmikant Pyarelal’s duet song Maine Tumhe Paa Liya with Rafi, Jaidev’s solo song Pee Kahan from Solva Sawan (1979), and a duet with Manna Dey from Parinay (1974).

External links

Official website

Vani Jairam at IMDb