Forensic team arrives at singer Vani Jairam's residence

CHENNAI: Forensics team arrived at the residence of veteran playback singer Vani Jairam, who passed away at the age of 78 at her residence in Chennai today morning.

According to police, Jairam who lived alone was found dead with bruises on her forehead. According to Malarkodi, the singer's househelp who had arrived for work, as usual, there was no response on ringing the bell and she alerted the singer's sister Uma. After Uma and Malarkodi entered the house using a set of duplicate keys, they found the singer unconscious in her bedroom with bruises on her forehead. Police was alerted and found her dead.

The deceased's body has been sent to Kilpauk Government Hospital.

Triplicane DC Shekhar Deshmukh said an investigation is underway.

The singer was honoured with Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award ahead of Republic Day this year.

The late singer has sung in over a dozen languages in a career spanning over five decades. Known for her vocal range and ability to adapt to any difficult composition, she began her singing career in Bollywood and her first break came in the Hindi film 'Guddi' (1971) directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The song 'Bole Re Papihara', featuring Jaya Bachchan in the lead role catapulted the singer into fame.

Born as Kalaivani in Tamil Nadu's Vellore, to a Tamil family of classically trained musicians, Jayaram's career started in 1971. She lent her voice for the playback for over a thousand Indian films and recorded over several thousand songs. She has also recorded thousands of devotionals and private records, as well as performed in solo concerts in India and overseas. She has worked with a slew of renowned composers like KV Mahadevan, Chakravarthy, Sathyam, Ilayaraja, and MS Vishwanathan.