Sowcar Janaki dies at 94

Veteran actress Sowcar Janaki, a legendary figure in South Indian cinema whose career spanned more than seven decades, died on Friday, August 21, 2026, at the age of 94. She passed away at 1:59 p.m. at a private hospital in Chennai, where she had been receiving treatment for health complications.

The news was confirmed by Nadigar Sangam President Nassar, who announced that her mortal remains would be placed at Centoph Road in Teyampet from 5 p.m. to allow fans and members of the film fraternity to pay their last respects. According to reports, Janaki had been admitted to Kauher Hospital about a week prior due to respiratory problems. Her condition became serious the previous night, leading doctors to move her to the intensive care unit and place her on ventilator support.

Born Sankaramanchi Janaki, she made her film debut in the 1950 Telugu movie Shavukaru, directed by L. V. Prasad and starring N. T. Rama Rao. The film's title gave her the screen name by which she would become universally known: Sowcar Janaki. This marked the beginning of an extraordinary journey that would see her act in nearly 400 films across Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam cinema.