Veteran South Indian film and stage actress ‘Sowcar’ Janaki, who carved a remarkable career spanning over seven decades across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, passed away on August 21 at the age of 94 in Chennai, due to age-related complications.
Born Sankaramanchi Janaki in 1931 to Venkoji Rao and Sachi Devi in Rajamundry (now Rajamahendravaram), she was the couple’s first daughter. Her father’s family moved to various cities due to problems in his business. Her father had studied paper-making technology in London.
Janaki’s entry into the world of cinema came after she was noticed by filmmaker B N Reddy while attending an event at All India Radio in Chennai. She was an A-grade artiste with AIR. When she was 15, B N Reddy offered her an opportunity in films. However, at the time, traditional Brahmin middle-class families held the view that acting in movies was not a respectable profession. Janaki’s father rejected the offer, and she soon married a young man chosen by her parents.
Her married life was not a rosy path and she faced a lot of hardships. Her husband, Sankaramanchi Srinivasa Rao, did not have a permanent job. She became a mother at 17. With a baby and a jobless husband, the family struggled to make ends meet. Her decision to enter films, which she had earlier been forced to give up on due to family advice, eventually returned. She began trying to get an opportunity in films, and B V Reddy asked her to meet his younger brother B Nagi Reddy.
In 1950, Janaki made her cinematic debut with the Telugu film Shavukaru, directed by L V Prasad. The film gave her the prefix ‘Sowcar’ to her name. Her Tamil debut came in 1952 with Valayapathi, directed by T R Sundaram.
Janaki went on to establish herself as a versatile performer across four South Indian languages. Her Kannada debut was with the 1954 film Devakannika, and in 1959 she featured alongside Dr Rajkumar in Kannada cinema’s first pan-India movie, Mahishasura Mardini. Her Malayalam debut came much later with the 1964 film School Master.
She had a knack for displaying style, finesse, majesty and a wide range of expressions. A versatile actor, she became one of the prominent names in the Telugu and Tamil film worlds.
Sowcar Janaki acted alongside leading stars including N T Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Shivaji Ganesan, M G Ramachandran, Gemini Ganesan, Jayalalithaa, Rajinikanth and Kannada thespian Rajkumar. Her comic role in Thillu Mullu was particularly notable. She also worked as a co-comedian alongside Thangai Srinivasan. Her command over English was an advantage in several roles.
Director Dada Mirasi was initially reluctant to give Janaki a role in his film, but it was Shivaji Ganesan who persuaded him to agree. The film, Puthiya Paravai, became a major hit. Janaki played a homely, sentimental and tragedy-driven character in the film.
Director K Balachander subsequently gave her roles that required tragic and tearful performances, as well as characters portraying educated, middle-class working women and a wide variety of other roles.
Janaki was also associated with the freedom movement during 1946-47, when she worked with Durgabai Deshmukh. She also served as a young volunteer to Mahatma Gandhi when he visited the Hindi Prachar Sabha in the then Madras Rajdhani.
After a long innings in films, Janaki ventured into television with the 1991 Doordarshan Tamil show Oorarinda Rahasyam. Her last television show was the 2013 Telugu serial Varudhini Parinayam on Zee Telugu. She most recently starred in the 2023 Telugu film Anni Manchi Sakunamule, directed by Nandini Reddy, and in the 2020 Tamil parody film Biskoth, directed by R Kannan.
During her career spanning more than seven decades in South Indian film and stage, Janaki acted in over 450 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi, besides appearing in over 300 stage shows across Tamil and Telugu theatre. She treated the stage with the same seriousness with which she approached the camera.
Sowcar Janaki was a recipient of the Padma Shri, Tamil Nadu’s Kalaimamani award and Andhra Pradesh’s Nandi award, among several other honours.
She is survived by two daughters and a son — Yagna Prabha Koty, Venkataramana Sankaramanchi and Sachi Rao.
Her mortal remains were cremated at the Besant Nagar Electric Crematorium in Chennai. Her body was earlier kept at her home for public viewing, where members of the cine world and others paid their respects. Her final funeral procession and last rites were held on Saturday afternoon, August 22, 2026, at the Besant Nagar Electric Crematorium.
Condolences poured in from political leaders and film personalities following the veteran actress’s demise.
