Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian
playback singer
A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...
from
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
. She sang around 10,000 songs in
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
,
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
,
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
,
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, and
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language, one of the three official languages used in Sri Lanka
* Sinhala script, a writing system for the Sinhala language
** Sinha ...
languages.
Early life
Jikki was born in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
on 3 November 1935. Her parents Gajapathi Naidu and Rajakanthamma, a Telugu family, had moved from
Chandragiri
Chandragiri is a suburb and neighbourhood of Tirupati and located in Tirupati district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a part of Tirupati urban agglomeration and a major growing residential area in Tirupati It is the mandal headqua ...
, near
Tirupati
Tirupati () is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Tirupati district. The city is home to the important Hindu shrine of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple and other historic temples and is refe ...
in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai for their livelihood.
Her uncle, Devaraju Naidu, worked as a music composer with the celebrated Kannada theatre legend and movie pioneer
Gubbi Veeranna
Gubbi Hampanna Veeranna (1891 – 1972) was an Indian theatre director. He was one of the pioneers and most prolific contributors to Kannada theatre. He established the drama company, ''Gubbi Sree Channabasaveshwara Nataka Company'', which play ...
and this introduced the young Jikki to the music and film world.
Career
Krishnaveni began her career as a child artist in 1943 and played a minor role in a
Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
movie named ''Panthulamma'', directed by
Gudavalli Ramabrahmam
Gudavalli Ramabrahmam was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Telugu cinema. He is known for directing critically acclaimed social problem films like ''Mala Pilla'' (1938) and ''Raithu Bidda'' (1939). At a time w ...
. In 1946, she appeared in the movie ''
Mangalasutram'', a remake of a Hollywood movie ''Excuse Me''.
She was already being noted for her musical prowess and her lilting mellifluous voice although she did not undergo any orthodox classical training in music at that stage.
A chance came her way to sing for the successful
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
film ''Gnanasoundari'' in 1948 for which music was composed by the then doyen of film music,
S. V. Venkatraman. The song was the super hit "Arul Thaarum Deva Maathaavey Aadhiyey Inba Jothi" for Kumari Rajamani who acted as the young girl growing into the young woman,
M. V. Rajamma
M. V. Rajamma (10 March 1918 – 23 April 1999) was an Indian actress, producer and playback singer of films mostly in Kannada, Tamil and Telugu languages from the 1930s through 1970s. She has the distinction of having acted as both heroine an ...
the heroine taking over the song with P. A. Periyanayaki singing as the scene advanced in time. This was the turning point in her life and changed the child actress Krishnaveni into a regular playback singer, Jikki, with offers of work for not only Tamil and Telugu films, but also for Kannada and Malayalam films.
She met her husband to be,
A. M. Rajah
Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director.
Early life
A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...
, in 1950 when he was introduced in the Tamil film ''
Samsaram'' as a new playback singer by Gemini's
S. S. Vasan
Subramaniam Srinivasan (4 January 1904 – 26 August 1969), popularly known by his screen name S. S. Vasan, was an Indian journalist, writer, advertiser, film producer, director and business tycoon. He is the founder of the Tamil-language maga ...
. He then introduced her to the Hindi film world by getting her to sing for his production ''Mr.Sampath'' in 1952.
P. B. Srinivas
Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollyw ...
also sang his first song in this film in a chorus. She also sang Sinhalese songs as well at that stage since the Sinhalese films were produced in Madras during those years.
Together with
P. Leela
Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...
, she reigned supreme in the South Indian film world in the early part of the 1950s, till
P. Susheela
Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...
took over the center stage from late 1950s. Though they were in competition, they were fond of each other and behaved like two sisters and sang many songs together.
Music composers she sang for
Playback singers she sang with
She sang memorable duets with all of the leading male singers, mostly with
A. M. Rajah
Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director.
Early life
A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...
and others such as
T. M. Soundararajan
Thoguluva Meenatchi Iyengar Soundararajan (24 March 1923 – 25 May 2013), popularly known as TMS, was an Indian Carnatic musician and a playback singer in Tamil cinema for over six and a half decades. He sang over 10,138 songs from 3,162 fi ...
,
Seerkazhi Govindarajan
Sirkazhi Govindarajan (19 January 1933 – 24 March 1988) was an Indian Tamil Carnatic vocalist and a leading playback singer of Indian cinema.
Early life
Govindarajan, was born on 19 January 1933 at Sirkazhi (a small town in present day May ...
,
Thiruchi Loganathan
Thiruchi Loganathan (24 July 1924 – 17 November 1989) was a playback singer of the Tamil film industry. He is known for his work in movies such as ''Manthiri Kumari'' (1950) and '' Parasakthi'' (1952). He was married to Rajalakshmi, daughter ...
,
Ghantasala,
C. S. Jayaraman
Chidambaram Sundaram Jayaraman or C. S. Jayaraman (Tamil: சி. எஸ். ஜெயராமன்) (January 6, 1917 – January 29, 1995) was a noted actor, music director and a successful playback singer, whose numerous songs were feat ...
,
P. B. Sreenivas
Prathivadhi Bhayankara Sreenivas (22 September 1930 – 14 April 2013) widely known as P. B. Sreenivas was an Indian playback singer, composer, harmonium player, lyricist, littérateur, and poet known for his works in South cinema, and Bollyw ...
,
T. A. Mothi
T is the twentieth letter of the Latin alphabet. (For the same letterform in the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, see Te and Tau respectively).
T may also refer to:
Codes and units
* T, Tera- as in one trillion
* T, the symbol for "True" in lo ...
,
S. C. Krishnan
S. C. Krishnan (1929-1983) was an Indian actor and playback singer who worked mainly in Tamil dramas and films.
Early life
He was born into a Saurashtra family as the fourth son of a jeweller ''Chelvam Achary'' in Sivaganga that was part of ...
,
V. N. Sundharam
''V.'' is the debut novel of Thomas Pynchon, published in 1963. It describes the exploits of a discharged United States Navy, U.S. Navy sailor named Benny Profane, his reconnection in New York City, New York with a group of pseudo-bohemianism, b ...
,
A. L. Raghavan
A. L. Raghavan (1933 – 19 June 2020) was an Indian playback singer, who sang many songs in Tamil-language films.
Biography
Raghavan was born to a Saurashtra Brahmin family in Ayyampettai near Thanjavur to Lakshmana Bhagavathar, Raghavan ...
,
R. B. Ramachandra,
Pithapuram Nageswara Rao
Pithapuram Nageswara Rao (5 May 1930 – 5 March 1996) was an Indian playback singer who worked in the early period of Telugu cinema. He sang thousands of songs, mostly of a comedic nature, in the 1950s and 1960s along with Madhavapeddi Satyam a ...
,
M. Sathyam,
M. S. Rama Rao
M. S. Ramarao (3 July 1921 – 20 April 1992) was an Indian singer and composer. He was popular for his devotional songs.He was the very first play back singer in the Telugu filmdom.
Singing career
Rama Rao debuted at World Telugu Conference h ...
,
S. P. Balasubrahmanyam
Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubrahmanyam (4 June 1946 – 25 September 2020), also referred to as SPB or SP Balu or Balu, was an Indian playback singer, television presenter, actor, music composer, dubbing artist, and film producer. He is wi ...
,
K. J. Yesudas,
Malaysia Vasudevan
Vasudevan (15 June 1944 – 20 February 2011), known as Malaysia Vasudevan, was a Malaysian-Indian playback singer and actor in Tamil cinema.
Early life
Malaysia Vasudevan's parents were from Palakkad. Chattu Nair of Ottappalam and Ammalu ...
and
Mano
Mano may refer to:
People
* Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia
* Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul
* Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...
.
She also sang duets with female singers, most notably with
P. Leela
Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...
and others like
P. A. Periyanayaki
P. A. Periyanayaki (14 April 1927 – 1990) was an Indian playback singer and actress who worked mainly in Tamil-language films. She also performed stage concerts as a Carnatic singer.
Early life
She hails from Thiruvadhigai near Panruti. ...
,
M. L. Vasanthakumari
Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari (popularly referred to as MLV) (3 July 1928 – 31 October 1990) was a Carnatic musician and playback singer for film songs in many Indian languages. MLV and her contemporaries D. K. Pattammal and M. S. Subbulak ...
,
T. V. Rathnam
Tenkasi Vallinayagam Rathnam ( ta, தென்காசி வள்ளிநாயகம் (டி.வி.) ரத்தினம்) (1930 - 17 October 1984) hailed from Tenkasi, Madras Presidency, British India. She was a playback singe ...
,
P. Suseela
Pulapaka Susheela (born 13 November 1935), popularly known as P. Susheela, is an Indian playback singer associated with the South Indian cinema primarily from Andhra Pradesh for over six decades. She is one of the greatest and best-known playba ...
,
A. P. Komala,
Radha Jayalakshmi
Radha (born 1932) and Jayalakshmi (1932 - 2014), popularly known as Radha Jayalakshmi ( ta, ராதா ஜெயலட்சுமி), were an Indian Carnatic music vocalist duo as well as playback singers in films in the 1940s and 1950s. Th ...
,
Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi
Soolamangalam Jayalakshmi ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் ஜெயலட்சுமி) and Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi ( ta, சூலமங்கலம் ராஜலட்சுமி), popularly known as Soolamangalam Sisters ( ta, ...
,
K. Jamuna Rani
K. Jamuna Rani (born 17 May 1938 in Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian playback singer who has sung over 6,000 songs in Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam lnguages.
Life and career
Rani was born to K. Varadarajulu and violinist ...
,
S. Janaki
Sistla Janaki (born 23 April 1938) is an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer from Andhra Pradesh. She is referred to respectfully as "Janaki Amma" and Nightingale of South India. She is one of the best-known playback singers in ...
, A. G. Rathnamala, K. Rani ,
Vani Jairam
Vani Jairam (born as Kalaivani on 30 November 1945), also credited as Vani Jayaram, is an Indian singer. She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She has do ...
and
K. S. Chithra
Krishnan Nair Shantakumari Chithra (born 27 July 1963), always credited as K. S. Chithra or Chithra, is an Indian playback singer and Carnatic musician. In a career spanning over four decades, she has recorded over 25,000 songs in various In ...
The singing actors she sang with were
M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar
Mayavaram Krishnasamy Thiyagaraja Bhagavathar (1 March 1910 – 1 November 1959), also known by his initials as M. K. T., was an Indian actor, producer and Carnatic singer. He is considered to be one of the most successful actors in Tamil cine ...
,
K. R. Ramasamy,
P. Bhanumathi
P. Bhanumathi Ramakrishna (7 September 1925 – 24 December 2005) was an Indian actress, singer, film producer, director, music composer, and novelist. She is regarded as the first female super star of Telugu cinema. She is also considered the ...
, S Varalaxmi and
J. P. Chandrababu.
Personal life
![A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/A._M._Rajah_-_Jikki_%28P._G._Krishnaveni%29.jpg)
She was married to the successful playback singer and music director
A. M. Rajah
Aemala Manmadharaju Rajah, popularly known as A. M. Rajah, was an Indian playback singer and music director.
Early life
A. M. Rajah was born on 1 July 1929 in Cchamanchipuram, Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. His father died when he was thr ...
. Their duets have been hits. Jikki sang many songs under her husband's direction that are still played by radio stations. A. M. Raja and Jikki have sung for live programmes in other countries such as U. S. A., Malaysia and Singapore.
A mother of six children, Jikki lost her husband when he slipped and fell between the tracks while boarding a train. The accident happened at
Valliyur
Vadakku valliyur or Valliyur is a Special Grade Town Panchayat in Radhapuram taluk in Tirunelveli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.Valliyur is one of the fastest-growing towns in Tirunelveli district. This town is located along ...
railway station in
Tirunelveli district on 8 April 1989, when both of them were on the way to perform a concert in a temple in
Kanyakumari district
Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Na ...
. After his death she stopped singing for some time. She came out of retirement and sang for
Ilaiyaraja
Ilaiyaraaja (born R. Gnanathesikan, 3 June 1943) is an Indian musician, composer, arranger, conductor, orchestrator, instrumentalist, lyricist and singer, popular for his works in Indian Cinema, prominently in Tamil films. Reputed to be one ...
. She also started a music troupe with her two sons and performed in many countries including the United States, Malaysia and Singapore.
Personality
Once when she sang five songs for a Tamil film, she asked the producer Valampuri Somanathan to reduce her remuneration because he had given her the opportunity to sing so many songs in a single movie, such was her dedication for singing.
Death
She had been suffering from breast cancer and had surgery, but the cancer spread to her kidneys and eventually liver. Several attempts were made to save her life by her close friend and singer
K. Jamuna Rani
K. Jamuna Rani (born 17 May 1938 in Andhra Pradesh, India) is an Indian playback singer who has sung over 6,000 songs in Sinhalese, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam lnguages.
Life and career
Rani was born to K. Varadarajulu and violinist ...
which were supported by donations through musical nights and medical and financial support from the governments of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
and
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...
.
The then Tamil Nadu chief minister
J.Jayalalitha and the Andhra Pradesh chief minister
N. Chandrababu Naidu had granted Jikki 100,000 rupees from the Dr. MGR trust and 200,000 rupees respectively after hearing of her illness and her difficulty in meeting the treatment expenses.
She died on 16 August 2004 in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
.
Awards and honours
She was honoured with "Ugadi Puraskaram" by Madras Telugu Academy and Government of Tamil Nadu awarded her "Kalai Ma Mani".
Filmography
Jikki sang in 98 Telugu and 71 Tamil films.
Telugu
Tamil
Discography
References
*
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jikki
2004 deaths
Telugu playback singers
Indian women playback singers
Singers from Andhra Pradesh
Kannada playback singers
Tamil playback singers
1935 births
Singers from Chennai
People from Chittoor district
20th-century Indian singers
Film musicians from Andhra Pradesh
Women musicians from Andhra Pradesh
20th-century Indian women singers