Trisha Krishnan recalls what a great honour it was to play S Janaki in 96, veteran singer's final on-screen appearance

C Prem Kumar's 2018 hit 96 starred Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan in lead roles. It also paid homage to veteran singer S Janaki.

In C Prem Kumar’s 2018 hit ‘96, Trisha Krishnan’s character is named Janaki. After S Janaki’s death on Saturday, the actor recalled meeting the veteran singer while shooting for the film and essaying a role named after her. She also posted pictures from when they met. Fans dug up a deleted scene from the film, in which singer Janaki meets the lead characters.

Trisha Krishnan met S Janaki while shooting for her 2018 hit film, 96.

Trisha Krishnan remembers S Janaki

Trisha posted pictures of when she met Janaki while shooting for 96, writing, “Carrying your name in one of my most special films will forever be one of the greatest honours of my life. But knowing you and being loved by you is something I’ll cherish forever.”

“Thank you for your hugs, your kindness, your laughter and for always reminding me that the greatest artists are the humblest souls. Your voice will live forever,” she also wrote, adding, “Rest peacefully Janaki Amma. I will miss you terribly.” The pictures show Trisha in her trademark yellow kurta and blue scarf from the film hugging Janaki and posing for pictures.

The deleted Janaki scene from 96

In 96, Trisha plays a character named Janaki, lovingly called Janu, who sings well. One night, she and Vijay Sethupathi’s character, Ram, go to her home to take a photo in front of it, but are invited inside. Once inside, Ram even complains to Janaki that while Janu sings her songs really well, she won’t sing his favourite one. At the end of the deleted scene, the veteran singer is thrilled to learn that Trisha is also named S Janaki Devi, telling her she must sing better than she does.

Fans dug out the deleted scene after news of Janaki’s death broke, along with videos of Chinmayi Sripaada, who had dubbed for Trisha, talking about the scene. “It was really easy (to dub that scene) because Trisha is also looking at (Janaki) saucer-eyed. She’s genuinely in that space. It’s one of those things where she’s named S Janaki in the film after Janaki amma (mother) only,” she once said on Sudhir Srinivasan’s podcast.

S Janaki dies at 88 on July 11

Janaki is a legendary singer who has sung thousands of songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Odia, Tulu, Urdu, Punjabi, Badaga, Bengali, Konkani, as well as in foreign languages such as English, Japanese, German, and Sinhala. On July 11, she died at a private hospital in Mysuru following hospitalisation due to cardiac arrest. Her last rites are being held on July 12.