Who was Jamuna Rani? Legendary playback singer dies at 88 in Bengaluru

New Delhi: Veteran playback singer Jamuna Rani, who is celebrated for her timeless classics in South Indian cinema, passed away at the age of 88 due to age-related ailments at her residence in Bengaluru.

She breathed her last on Thursday (July 30). She has sung over 6,00- songs in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Sinhala film music in her three-decade career.

Who was Jamuna Rani?

Born in Andhra Pradesh in 1938, she comes from a music background, as her mother, K Droupathy, was a violinist. When she was just seven, she lent her voice to the Telugu film Tyagayya (1946), making her debut in the South India cinema.

By her teenage years, she had already started singing for lead characters in films, such as Valayapathi and Kalyani.She became a prominent name in Tamil film music during the 1950s and 1960s. Her breakthrough came with the popular song ‘ Aasaiyum En Nesamum” from the Tamil film Gulebakavali (1955), which established her as a leading playback singer.

During the golden era of Tamil cinema, she collaborated with MS Viswanathan, TK Ramamoorthy, KV Mahadevan, and G Ramanathan.

Her contribution to Sri Lankan cinema was particularly notable. She made her Sinhala film debut with Sujatha (1953) under composer Ananda Samarakoon and went on to sing for several Sri Lankan films.

Her Sinhala song ‘Jeevana Mea Gamana Sansare’ from Seda Sulang became especially popular among audiences.

Some of her memorable songs are ‘Senthamizh Then Mozhiyal’, ‘Yaaradi Nee Mohini’, ‘Kungunmapoove Konjum Purave’, ‘Mama Mama Mama’, ‘Kaalai Vayasu Kattana Size’, ‘Naan Sirithaal Deepavali’, and ‘Paattondru Ketten’, among others.

Jamuna Rani final rites

The veteran singer Jamuna Rani’s last rites was performed at Kallahalli on Thursday afternoon.