Jikki
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| P.G. Krishnaveni | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | P.G. Krishnaveni |
| Also known as | Jikki |
| Born | 1935 |
| Origin | Chandragiri, Madras Presidency, British India now in Andhra Pradesh |
| Died | August 16, 2004 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India |
| Genres | Film music (playback singing), Indian classical music |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocalist |
| Years active | 1948 - 2004 |
Pillavalu Gajapathi Krishnaveni (Telugu: పి.జి.కృష్ణవేణి, Tamil: பி.ஜி.கிருஷ்ணவேணி) aka Jikki (Telugu: జిక్కి, Tamil: ஜிக்கி), was a popular film playback singer from Andhra Pradesh,South India. She sang over nearly 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi and Sinhala languages.[1]
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[edit] Early life
Jikki was born to Gajapathi Naidu and Rajakanthamma at Chandragiri, near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Her parents moved to Chennai for a living. Indeed music ran in her genes for her uncle Devaraju Naidu worked as music composer with celebrated Kannada theatre legend and movie pioneer Gubbi Veeranna. Jikki began her career as child artist and played a minor role in a Telugu movie named Panthulamma directed by Guduvalli Ramabramham in 1943. In 1946 she once again hit the silver screen with the movie Mangalasutram, the rehash of a Hollywood movie 'Excuse Me'.
[edit] Career
Jikki got a chance to sing for the Tamil movie 'Gnanasoundari' in 1948. This was the turning point in her life. She sang for the heroine, when she was young. The song Arul Tharaam Deva maathaavey Aadhiyey Inba Jothi... which will be succeeded by P. A. Periyanayaki (for the grown up heroine) became super hit and so did the film. This changed actress Jikki into Playback singer Jikki. Soon Jikki began to sing regularly not only in Tamil and Telugu but also in Kannada and Malayalam films. During those years as most of the Sinhalese films were produced in South India, she sang for Sri Lankan films movies too. She got many chances to sing in all southern languages.
[edit] Music composers she sang for
S. V. Venkatraman, G. Ramanathan, C. R. Subburaman, S. M. Subbaiah Naidu, S. Rajeswara Rao, T. Govindarajulu Naidu, R. Sudharsanam, S. Dakshinamurthi, C. N. Pandurangan, Adepalli Rama Rao, Emani Sankara Sastry, Master Venu, K. Vara Prasada Rao, T. A. Kalyanam, M. S. Gnanamani, K. V. Mahadevan, Pendyala Nageswara Rao, G. Aswathama, V. Dakshinamoorthy, T. G. Lingappa, P. Adinarayana Rao, P. S. Diwakar, T. R. Papa, T. V. Raju, C. S. Jayaraman, Ghantasala, Vedha, M. S. Viswanathan, T. K. Ramamoorthy, Rajan - Nagendra, Devarajan, M. Ranga Rao, Vijaya Bhaskar, Baburaj, K. Raghavan, K. G. Moorthy, T. Chalapathy Rao, R. K. Shekar, Brother Lakshmanan, Jeevan, Ilaiyaraja, Shankar Ganesh, Deva, and Hindi film music composers, Shankar Jaikishan and C. Ramchandra
[edit] Playback singers she sang with
She sang immemorable duets with all the leading male singers with most with A. M. Rajah and others such as T. M. Soundararajan, Sirkazhi Govindarajan, Thiruchi Loganathan, Ghantasala, C. S. Jayaraman, P. B. Sreenivas, T. A. Mothi, S. C. Krishnan, V. N. Sundharam, J. P. Chandrababu, K. R. Ramasamy, A. L. Raghavan, R. B. Ramachandra, S.P. Balasubramaniam, K. J. Yesudas, Malaysia Vasudevan & Mano.
She also sang duets with female singers with most notably with P. Leela and others like P. A. Periyanayaki, M. L. Vasanthakumari, T. V. Rathinam, P. Suseela, A. P. Komala, Radha Jayalakshmi, Soolamangalam Rajalakshmi, K. Jamuna Rani, S. Janaki, and Vani Jairam.
[edit] Personal life
She was married to successful playback singer and music director A. M. Rajah. A.M.Rajah-Jikki duets have been super-duper hits. The Tamil movie 'Then Nivalu' was a big hit also because these all time great singers. Jikki has also sung many songs in her husband's direction - songs that still play in radio stations. A mother of six children, Jikki lost her husband in a train mishap. He slipped and fell in between the tracks while boarding a train. This was one incident that she could never forget. After her husband's death she stopped singing for sometime. Then she came out of retirement and sang for Ilaiyaraaja. She also started a music troupe with her two daughters and performed in many countries including U.S.
[edit] Personality
Unlike many singers she was not always after money. 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 is her dedication for singing.
[edit] Filmography
- Mana Desam (1949)
- Palletoori Pilla (1950)
- Shavukaru (1950)
- Samsaram (1950)
- Patala Bhairavi (1951)
- Navvite Navaratnalu (1951)
- Dharmadevata (1952/I)
- Palletooru (1952)
- Aah (1953)
- Bratuku Theruvu (1953)
- Devadasu (1953)
- Pardesi (1953)
- Pratigna (1953/I)
- Rechukka (1954)
- Todu Dongalu (1954)
- Donga Ramudu (1955)
- Rojulu Marayi (1955)
- Anarkali (1955)
- Ardhangi (1955)
- Chiranjeevulu (1956)
- Bhale Ramudu (1956)
- Edi Nijam (1956)
- Jayam Manade (1956)
- Kanakatara (1956)
- Penki Pellam (1956)
- Suvarna Sundari (1957/I)
- Maya Bazaar (Telugu, 1957)
- Maya Bazaar (Tamil, 1957)
- Bhale Bava (1957)
- Panduranga Mahatyam (1957)
- Sarangadhara (1957)
- Thodi Kodallu (1957)
- Chenchu Lakshmi (1958/I)
- Mangalya Balam (1958)
- Krishna Leelalu (1959)
- Raja Makutam (1959/I)
- Pelli Kaanuka (1960)
- Sahasra Siracheda Apoorva Chinthamani (1960)
- Shantinivasam (1960)
- Sri Venkateswara Mahatyam (1960)
- Sri Seetha Rama Kalyanam (1961)
- Batasari (1961)
- Sabash Raja (1961)
- Thirudathe (1961)
- Bhishma (1962)
- Gulebakavali Katha (1962)
- Siri Sampadalu (1962)
- Tirupathamma Katha (1963)
- Lava Kusha (1963/I)
- Sampoorna Ramayanam (1971)
- Shrimanthudu (1971)
- Vattathukkul Chathuram (1978)
- Aditya 369 (1991)
- Seetharamaiah Gari Manavaralu (1991)
- Ninne Pelladatha (1996)
- Murari (2001)
[edit] Awards and honours
She was honoured with "Ugadi Puraskaram" by Madras Telugu Academy and Government of Tamilnadu awarded her "Kalai Ma Mani".
[edit] Death
She had been suffering from Breast Cancer and had surgery, but the cancer soon spread to her Kidneys and eventually the Brain. Several attempts were made to save her life which were supported by donations through musical nites, medical/financial support from Governments of Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh. Then Tamilnadu chief minister J.Jayalalithaa had granted Jikki of Rs 100,000 (one lakh rupees) from the 'Dr. MGR' trust after hearing her illness and her difficulty to meet the treatment expenses. Finally, she died on August 16, 2004 in Chennai.
