Veteran Actress Sowcar Janaki Passes Away at 94 in Chennai

24 August 2026National

Veteran South Indian actress Sankaramanchi Janaki, universally known as Sowcar Janaki, died at 94 in Chennai on 21 August 2026. She worked across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam cinema over seven decades, taking her screen name from her 1950 debut, the Telugu film Shavukaru, directed by L. V. Prasad. Published filmography totals vary between nearly 400 and over 450 films. Her last screen appearance came in the 2023 Telugu film Anni Manchi Sakunamule, directed by Nandini Reddy, where she played a grandmother. She received the Padma Shri in 2022, the Kalaimamani award in 1969 and multiple Nandi Awards, and is survived by three children.

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The Padma Shri is India's fourth-highest civilian award, after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan | Kalaimamani is conferred by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram for contributions to arts and culture | The Nandi Awards are Andhra Pradesh's state honours for Telugu cinema, theatre and television

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