The Ministry of Home Affairs on Tuesday announced the list of recipients for the Padma awards for the year 2022. Considered to be one of the highest civilian awards of the country, veteran Tamil actress Sowcar Janaki has been honored with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award, for her distinguished service in the field of arts. The Padma Awards are bestowed upon by the President of India in a ceremony that is usually held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan around March or April every year. In 2022, a total of 128 people have been conferred with the honors in three categories - Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.

Janaki, who has made appearances in films, television and stage plays across all languages, made her debut in the LV Prasad-directed Telugu film Shavukaru in 1950, which earned her the name 'Sowcar'. The legendary actress has been featured in over 450 films, predominantly in Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages, while also playing lead roles during the course of her 70-year-old career. Janaki, who celebrated her 90th birthday in December 2021, has also performed on stage in over 300 shows, while also being a radio artist during the early stages of her career. 

Having made her acting debut in Shavukaru opposite iconic Telugu actor N. T. Rama Rao, Sowcar Janaki has appeared alongside South Indian screen legends like  A. Nageswara Rao, M.G.R, Sivaji Ganesan, Dr. Rajkumar, Gemini Ganesan, Prem Nazir, Jaggayya, Nagesh, V.K. Ramaswamy, Major Sunderrajan, Srikanth, AVM Rajan, Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth and Mammootty. A two-time Nandi Award winner, she has also appeared in character roles and was last seen in pivotal roles in the 2019 Karthi and Jyotika-starrer Thambi and Santhanam's Biskoth in 2020.