Padmini (12 June 1932 – 24 September 2006) was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n actress and trained Bharathanatyam dancer who has acted in over 250 Indian films. She has acted in the Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

, Telugu

Telugu language

Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...

, Malayalam

Malayalam language

Malayalam , is one of the four major Dravidian languages of southern India. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India with official language status in the state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry. It is spoken by 35.9 million people...

 and Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

 language films. Padmini along with her elder sister Lalitha

Lalitha (actress)

Lalitha was a South Indian actress and danseuse. She was the eldest of the "Travancore Sisters" - Lalitha, Padmini, and Ragini. She started her acting career in the 1938 Tamil film Adithan Kanavu and has acted in movies of different Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.She...

 and her younger sister Ragini

Ragini (actress)

Ragini was a South Indian danseuse and actress. She was the youngest of the famed Travancore Sisters: Lalitha, Padmini, and Ragini. With sister Padmini, she started her acting career in the mid 1950s and has acted in movies of different Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu...

, were called "Travancore sisters

Travancore sisters

Travancore Sisters refers to the trio of Padmini, Lalitha and Ragini who were actors, dancers and performers in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films....

".

Padmini was born and raised in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

 in what was then the princely state

Princely state

A Princely State was a nominally sovereign entitity of British rule in India that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule such as suzerainty or paramountcy.-British relationship with the Princely States:India under the British Raj ...

 of Travancore

Travancore

Kingdom of Travancore was a former Hindu feudal kingdom and Indian Princely State with its capital at Padmanabhapuram or Trivandrum ruled by the Travancore Royal Family. The Kingdom of Travancore comprised most of modern day southern Kerala, Kanyakumari district, and the southernmost parts of...

 (now the India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n state of Kerala

Kerala

or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....

). She was the second daughter of Thankappan Pillai and Saraswathi Amma. Her sisters, Lalitha

Lalitha (actress)

Lalitha was a South Indian actress and danseuse. She was the eldest of the "Travancore Sisters" - Lalitha, Padmini, and Ragini. She started her acting career in the 1938 Tamil film Adithan Kanavu and has acted in movies of different Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.She...

 and Ragini

Ragini (actress)

Ragini was a South Indian danseuse and actress. She was the youngest of the famed Travancore Sisters: Lalitha, Padmini, and Ragini. With sister Padmini, she started her acting career in the mid 1950s and has acted in movies of different Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, and Telugu...

, were also well known film actresses. Together, the three were known as the Travancore sisters

Travancore sisters

Travancore Sisters refers to the trio of Padmini, Lalitha and Ragini who were actors, dancers and performers in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi films....

. Padmini and her sisters learnt bharathanatyam from Vazhuvoor B. Ramaiah Pillai. The trio was also the disciples of Indian dancer Guru Gopinath. They learnt "Kerala Natanam" style of dancing from him. Film director P. Subramaniam

P. Subramaniam

P. Subramaniam was an Indian director and producer of Malayalam films. Since the mid 1950s he has directed 59 films and has produced 69 films. His venture Merryland Studio was the second film production studio of Kerala...

, noticed her talents while she was presenting Parijatha Pushpapaharanam in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram , formerly known as Trivandrum, is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala and the headquarters of the Thiruvananthapuram District. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland...

.

Career

At the age of 16, Padmini was cast as the heroine in the Hindi film Kalpana

Kalpana (1948 film)

Kalpana is a 1948 dance-drama Hindi film written and directed by noted dancer, Uday Shankar, his only film, and story revolves around young dancer’s dream of setting up an academy, a reflection his own, which he eventually did at Almora....

(1948), launching her film career. She acted in films for nearly 30 years.

Padmini starred with several of the most well-known actors in Indian film, including Sivaji Ganesan

Sivaji Ganesan

Viluppuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan Manrayar , commonly known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan , was an Indian stage and film actor active during the latter half of the 20th century. He is one of the most respected film actors in India. He is well known for his versatility and acting skills with...

, M. G. Ramachandran

M. G. Ramachandran

Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran , popularly known by his initials , was an Indian film actor, director, producer and politician....

, Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor

Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...

, Prem Nazir

Prem Nazir

Abdul Khader , better known by his stage name Prem Nazir , was an Indian film actor. He is considered one of the all time super stars in Malayalam cinema...

, Rajkumar

Rajkumar

Rajkumar , born as Singanalluru Puttaswamayya Muthuraju was a popular actor and singer in the Kannada film industry...

 and Gemini Ganesan

Gemini Ganesan

Ramaswami Ganesan , popularly known as Gemini Ganesan , was an Indian actor. He was nicknamed "Kadhal Mannan" of Tamil cinema for the romantic roles he played in movies....

. She acted with Sivaji Ganesan in almost 59 films. She acted mostly in Tamil films. Ezhai Padum Padu

Ezhai Padum Padu

Ezhai Padum Padu is a 1950 Tamil film directed by K Ramnoth. It was simultaneously released in Telugu as Beedala Patlu. It was an adaptation of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. The film was released on Deepavali day, 1950 and was a hit. For his memorable portrayal of Inspector Javert in this film,...

released in 1950 was her first film in Tamil. Her association with Sivaji Ganesan started with the film Panam

Panam

Panam may refer to:* Pan Am , a television series centered around Pan American World Airways during the 1960s* Pan American World Airways, the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927–1991...

in 1952. Some of her noted Tamil films include Thankapadumai, Anbu, Thillana Mohanambal, Vietnam Veedu, Ethir Parathadhu, Mangayar Thilakam and Poove Poo Chooda Vaa. Some of her popular Malayalam films include Prasanna, Snehaseema, Vivaahitha, Adhyaapika, Kumara Sambavam, Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu, Vasthuhara and Dolar.

In two of her popular Bollywood films - Mera Naam Joker

Mera Naam Joker

Mera Naam Joker is a 1970 Hindi film directed by Raj Kapoor. The screenplay was written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. This film was the debut of Rishi Kapoor. Mera Naam Joker is a film about a clown who must make his audience laugh at the cost of his own sorrows. The film is reportedly inspired by Raj...

and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai she was paired against the Raj Kapoor

Raj Kapoor

Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...

. Her other Bollywood films are Payal

Payal

Payal is an Old Town and has municipal council in Ludhiana district in the Indian state of Punjab.Payal pronounced is a popular Indian name that means anklets in Hindi...

(1957) and Babubhai Mistry

Babubhai Mistry

Babubhai Mistry is an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as Mahabharat , and Parasmani ....

's Mahabharat

Mahabharat (1965 film)

Mahabharat is a 1965 Hindi film based on the Indian epic Mahābhārata, starring Abhi Bhattacharya as Krishna, Pradeep Kumar as Arjuna, Dara Singh as Bhima, Padmini as Draupadi and Jeevan as Shakuni, and directed by Babubhai Mistri. The music for the film was composed by Chitragupta and the title...

.

Her most famous film was Thillana Mohanambal, a Tamil film, where she plays a dancer competing against a musician to see whose skills are better. She also acted in a Indian-Soviet film Journey Beyond Three Seas (Hindi version- Pardesi) based on the travelogues of Russian traveller Afanasy Nikitin, called A Journey Beyond the Three Seas, which is now considered a Russian literary monument, in which she plays the role of Lakshmi, a royal dancer.

Padmini was also awarded the title "Naattiya Peroli" (Danseuse), honouring her contribution to Bharathanatyam in cinema

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

.

Family

After her marriage to Ramachandran, a U.S based physician in 1961. She retired temporarily from films and focused on family life and refining her classical dance. She settled in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and in 1977 opened her classical dance school in New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

, The "Padmini School of Fine Arts". Her school is today one of the largest Indian Classical Dance institutions in America

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Actress Sukumari

Sukumari

Sukumari is an Indian film actress who has primarily acted in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has been acting since she was 10 years old and has acted in various roles. The total number of her films is presumed to be about two-thousand. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of...

 is the trio's maternal first cousin. Shobana, the famous dancer is the niece of Padmini. Actors Vineeth

Vineeth

Vineeth is an Indian film actor and classical dancer who has acted in several well received films in his native Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. He studied in Good Shepherd Public School, Ooty, and at St. Joseph's Boys' High School, Thalassery.Vineeth is nephew of the famous Travancore...

 and Krishna are also relatives. Padmini died of a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 at the Chennai Apollo Hospital on 24 September 2006.

Awards

Won

• Certificate of merit for Veerapandiya Kattabomman
  Veerapandiya Kattabomman (film)
  Veerapandiya Kattabomman is a 1959 Tamil feature film written by Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy and directed by B. R. Panthulu. The cast includes Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, S. Varalakshmi, and V. K. Ramaswamy....
  
  in Afro-Asian film festival in 1960
• Best actress award from Film Fans Association in 1954, 1959, 1961 and 1966.
• 1958 - Kalaimamani
  Kalaimamani
  The Kalaimamani is an award in Tamil Nadu state, India. These awards are given by the Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Manram for excellence in the field of art and literature....
  
   award from the Government of Tamil Nadu
  Government of Tamil Nadu
  The Government of Tamil Nadu, headquartered at Chennai is the governing authority for the Indian State of Tamil Nadu. It is seated at the Fort St. George...
  
  
• 1957 - The "Best Classical Dancer Award" from Moscow Youth Festival
• 1966 - Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress for Kaajal
  Kaajal
  Kaajal is a 1965 Bollywood film produced by Pannalal Maheshwari and directed by Ram Maheshwari. The film stars Meena Kumari, Raaj Kumar, Dharmendra, Padmini, Helen, Durga Khote, Tun Tun , Mehmood and Mumtaz. The films music is by Ravi-Plot:...
  
  

Nominations

• 1960 - Filmfare Best Actress Award
  Filmfare Best Actress Award
  The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954.-Superlatives:...
  
   for the film Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai

Partial filmography

1. "An American Dream" (2002) TV series .... Parvathy Amma
2. Vasthuhara (1991) .... Bhavani
3. Poove Poochudava (1985) .... Pungavanathama - Sundari's grandmother
4. Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu (1984) .... Kunjoonjamma Thomas
5. Dard Ka Rishta (1982) .... Guest artist
6. Ezhamkadalinakkare (1979) .... Radha
7. Navarathnam (1977)
8. Gurudakshinai (1976)
9. Jai Jagat Janani (1976)
10. Uzhaikum Karangal (1976) aka "Working Hands" - India (English title)
11. Devi Shri Kaumariamman (1974)
12. Thayi (1974)
13. Appa Tata (1972)
14. Annai Velankanni (1971)
15. Rickshawkaran (1971) .... Parvathi aka "Rickshaw Man" - India (English title)
16. Mastana (1970) .... Gauri
17. Aansoo Aur Muskan (1970) .... Mary
18. Ethirkalam (1970)
19. Mera Naam Joker (1970) .... Meena/Meena Banu Bochali/Master Meenu aka "My Name Is Joker" - USA (informal literal title)
20. Penn Daivam (1970) .... Ponnamma
21. Vietnam Veedu (1970) .... Savitri
22. Bhai Bahen (1969) .... Rani/Tara
23. Chanda Aur Bijli (1969) .... Bijli
24. Madhavi (1969) .... Rajkumari Mangala V. Singh
25. Nannha Farishta (1969) .... Gauri
26. Adyapika (1968) .... Saramma
27. Thillana Mohanambal (1968) .... Mohanambal
28. Thirumal Perumai (1968) aka "Fame of Lord Krishna" - India (English title)
29. Vaasna (1968)
30. Woman (1967) .... Parvati aka "Aurat" - India (original title)
31. Engaluckum Kalam Varum (1967)
32. Iru Malargal (1967)
33. Paladai (1967)
34. Pesum Daivam (1967)
35. Thiruvarutselvar (1967)
36. Vasantha Sena (1967)
37. Afsana (1966)
38. Chitthi (1966) .... Meenakshi
39. Saraswathi Sabatham (1966) .... Devi Maa Parvati 'Shakti'
40. Thaye Unakkaga (1966)
41. Kaajal (1965) .... Bhanu
42. Mahabharat (1965) .... Draupadi / Sairantri
43. Naan Vanangum Daivam (1963)
44. Aashiq (1962)
45. Rani Samyuktha (1962)
46. Senthamarai (1962)
47. Vikramadithan (1962)
48. Apsara (1961)
49. Arasilankumari (1961) .... Anbukarasi
50. Aai Phirse Bahar (1960)
51. Bindya (1960) .... Bindya 'Bindu'
52. Deivapiravi (1960) aka "Divine Birth" - India (English title)
53. Jis Desh Men Ganga Behti Hai (1960) .... Kammo
54. Kalpana (1960) .... Kalpana
55. Mannathai Mannan (1960)
56. Meenda Sorgam (1960)
57. Raja Desingu (1960)
58. Singapore (1960) .... Lata
59. Amar Shaheed (1959) aka "Immortal Martyrs" - India (English title)
60. Daivame Thunai (1959)
61. Maragatham (1959) .... Maragatham/Alamu
62. Ponnu Vilayum Bhoomi (1959)
63. Thangapathumai (1959)
64. Veerapandiya Kattabomman (1959) .... Vellayamma aka "The Great Pandiya King" - India (English title)
65. Amar Deep (1958) .... Roopa
66. Criminal (1958) .... Dancer dressed as man in song "Heeriye, Soniye" aka "Mujrim" - India (original title)
67. Raagini (1958)
68. Raj Tilak (1958)
69. Sitamgar (1958) aka "The Tyrant" - India (English title)
70. Pardesi (1957)
71. Payal (1957) .... Kamla
72. Qaidi (1957)
73. Amaradeepam (1956) .... Rupa
74. Madurai Veeran (1956) .... Velaiammai
75. Raja Rani (1956)
76. Kaveri (1955)
77. Koteshwaran (1955)
78. Mangayar Thilakam (1955) .... Sulochana
79. Ethirparadathu (1954) .... Sumathi aka "Unexpected" - India (English title)
80. Illara Jyothi (1954)
81. Kalyanam Panniyum Brahmachari (1954) .... Padmini
82. Sneehaseema (1954) .... Omana
83. Sorgavasal (1954) .... Queen Kumara Devi aka "Gateway to Heaven" - India (English title)
84. Thooku Thooki (1954)
85. Ammalakkalu (1953)
86. Marumagal (1953)
87. Oka Talli Pillalu (1953)
88. Dharmadevata (1952/I) .... Narthaki
89. Kanchana (1952)
90. Mr. Sampat (1952) .... Malini Devi
91. Velaikkaran (1952)
92. Bahar (1951) .... Malti
93. Manamagal (1951) .... Debut
94. Ezhai Padum Padu (1950)
95. Maruthanattu Ilavrasi (1950)
96. Laila Majnu (1949/I)
97. Martanda Varma (1933) .... Parukutty

External links