P. G. Krishnaveni | |
|---|---|
 Jikki in late 1940s | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Jikki |
| Born | P. G. Krishnaveni (1935-11-03)3 November 1935 Chennai |
| Origin | Chandragiri,Madras Presidency,British India (now inAndhra Pradesh) |
| Died | 16 August 2004(2004-08-16) (aged 68) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocalist |
| Years active | 1948–2004 |
Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known asJikki, was an Indianplayback singer. She sang around 10,000 songs inTelugu,Tamil,Kannada,Malayalam,Sinhalese, andHindi languages.[1]
Jikki was born inChennai on November 3rd, 1935. Her parents, Gajapathi Naidu and Rajakanthamma, a Telugu family, had moved fromChandragiri, nearTirupati 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 pioneerGubbi Veeranna and this introduced the young Jikki to the music and film world.[2]
Krishnaveni began her career as a child artist in 1943 and played a minor role in aTelugu movie namedPanthulamma, directed byGudavalli Ramabrahmam. In 1946, she appeared in the movieMangalasutram, a remake of a Hollywood movieExcuse Me.[2] 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 successfulTamil filmGnanasoundari 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 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.[2]
She met her husband-to-be,A. M. Rajah, in 1950, when he was introduced in the Tamil filmSamsaram as a new playback singer by Gemini'sS. S. Vasan. He then introduced her to the Hindi film world by getting her to sing for his productionMr.Sampath in 1952.P. B. Srinivas 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.[2]
Together withP. Leela, she reigned supreme in the South Indian film world in the early part of the 1950s, tillP. Susheela took over the center stage from the late 1950s. Though they were in competition, they were fond of each other and behaved like two sisters and sang many songs together.[3]
.jpg)
She was married to the successful playback singer and music directorA. M. Rajah. 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 atValliyur railway station inTirunelveli district on 8 April 1989, when both of them were on the way to perform a concert in a temple inKanyakumari district. After his death she stopped singing for some time. She came out of retirement and sang forIlaiyaraja. She also started a music troupe with her two sons and performed in many countries including the United States, Malaysia and Singapore.[2]
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.[2]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
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 singerK. Jamuna Rani which were supported by donations through musical nights and medical and financial support from the governments ofTamil Nadu andAndhra Pradesh.
The then Tamil Nadu chief ministerJ.Jayalalithaa and the Andhra Pradesh chief ministerN. 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 inChennai.[2]
She was honoured with "Ugadi Puraskaram" by Madras Telugu Academy and Government of Tamil Nadu awarded her "Kalai Ma Mani".[citation needed]
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion with: Kannada songs. You can help byadding missing information.(November 2020) |
Jikki sang in 98 Telugu and 71 Tamil films.
