The Home Ministry on Tuesday announced the list of recipients of the Padma awards – one of the highest civilian awards of the country. Veteran actress Sowcar Janaki from Tamil Nadu has been honored with India’s fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri for her distinguished service in the field of arts. Janaki made her debut in the LV Prasad-directed Telugu film Shavukaru in 1950, which got her the moniker ‘Sowcar’.
The Padma Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March/ April every year. 128 people have been honoured this year with the Awards that are conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.
Actress Sowcar Janaki also performed on stage in over 3000 shows and was a radio artist during her earlier years. She won two Nandi Awards. The actress has appeared in over 450 films, predominantly in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages.
Apart from playing lead roles in her 70-year career, Janaki, who turned 90 in December 2021, has portrayed multiple character roles and is well-known for her light-hearted role in Thillu Mullu co-starring Rajinikanth. She was last seen in Tamil films like Karthi and Jyotika starrer Thambi (2019) and Santhanam’s Biskoth (2020).
