Janaki Sabesh Profile

A story told from the heart can only win more hearts Janaki Sabesh

Profile

Janaki Sabesh is passionate about telling stories - writing, performing, living them- friends and family call her a drama queen!

Her engagement with children began when she produced an audio cassette “The Learning Train” (1995) that simplified the world of numbers through story and songs. As a successful voiceover artiste, she has bought many a character to life on screen.

She began her career independently assisting directors like Rajiv Mehrotra and Simi Garewal and Sridhar Kshirsagar, followed by a stint as an assistant director in JS Films which made advertisements and corporate films.

Through her initiative Golpo Tales Unlimited (‘Golpo’ being the Bengali word for story), she collaborates with publishers like Tulika Books and Karadi Tales and performs their stories in schools, colleges, B-schools, corporates, litfests, theatre workshops, parent-teacher workshops and other professional networks.

Janaki’s story sessions are an interactive mix of narration, music and movement, where she holds the attention of children and adults in her inimitable style. Imbibing experiences from her acting career of close to 30 films across the Southern languages, where she has played the quintessential mother to actors like Aishwarya Rai, Madhavan and many others, she weaves drama into every story she performs. Trained in classical music, her stories always have songs that form the part of a sing-along, much to the delight of her audiences.

She also plays an active role in Chennai’s live performance community, experimenting with monologues, stand-up comedy and theatre. A simple question from a child during one of her sessions prompted her to write her first picture book, The Jungle Storytelling Festival.

A graduate in Political Science from Lady Sriram College, Delhi, with a Master’s in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi, she is currently the Head-Stakeholder Engagement at Qube Cinemas.