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

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

actress and trained

Bharatanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

dancer, who acted in over 250 Indian films. She acted in

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

language films. Padmini, with her elder sister Lalitha and her younger sister Ragini, were called the "

Travancore sisters Travancore Sisters refers to the trio of Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini who were actresses, dancers and performers in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films. The Travancore sisters learned dancing under Guru Gopinath and Guru T. K ...

Early life

Padmini was born and raised in

Trivandrum Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populatio ...

(present-day Thiruvananthapuram), in what was then the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

Travancore The Kingdom of Travancore ( /ˈtrævənkɔːr/), also known as the Kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from c. 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvananthapuram. At ...

(now the Indian state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

) to a

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian peoples, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. ...

-speaking family. She was the second daughter of Sree Thankappan Pillai and Saraswathi Amma.

Career

At the age of 16, Padmini was cast as the dancer in the Hindi film '' Kalpana'' (1948), launching her career. She acted in films consecutively for nearly 30 years in the first lease of her career. Padmini starred with several of the most well-known actors in Indian film, including

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

M. G. Ramachandran Maruthur Gopalan Ramachandran (17 January 1917 24 December 1987), also popularly known as M.G.R., was an Indian politician, actor, philanthropist, and filmmaker who served as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death in 1987 ...

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as List of Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh fo ...

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (pronunciation: �aːd͡ʒ kəpuːɾ born Shrishti Nath Kapoor; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered one of th ...

Shammi Kapoor Shammi Kapoor (born Shamsher Raj Kapoor; (pronounced �ʌmːi kʌpuːɾ 21 October 1931 – 14 August 2011) was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards, winning in the categories of Best Actor for ...

, Sathyan, Prem Nazir, Rajkumar,

Gemini Ganesan Ramasamy Ganesan (17 November 1920 – 22 March 2005), better known by his stage name Gemini Ganesan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema. He was referred to as the ''Kaadhal Mannan'' (King of Romance) for his romantic roles ...

and

S. S. Rajendran Sedapatti Suryanarayana Rajendran, also known by his initials SSR (January 1928 – 24 October 2014), was an Indian actor, director, producer and politician who worked in Tamil theatre and cinema. Film career Rajendran made his acting de ...

. ''

Ezhai Padum Padu ''Ezhai Padum Padu'' () is a 1950 Indian Tamil language film directed by K. Ramnoth. It was simultaneously shot in Telugu as ''Beedala Patlu''. It was an adaptation of ''Les Misérables'', Victor Hugo's 1862 novel. The film was released on Diwa ...

'', released in 1950, was her first film in Tamil. V A Gopalakrishnan taught Padmini sisters

since their mother-tongue was

. He was associated with Pakshi Raja studios. Padmini Ramachandran's association with Sivaji Ganesan started with the film '' Panam'' in 1952. Some of her notable Tamil films include ''

Sampoorna Ramayanam (1958 film) ''Sampoorna Ramayanam'' () is a 1958 Indian Tamil-language Hindu mythological film directed by K. Somu. It is based on Valmiki's ''Ramayana''. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao in the lead role of Rama and Sivaji Ganesan as Bharatha. The film, pro ...

'' (1958), ''

Thanga Padhumai ''Thanga Padhumai'' () is a 1959 Indian Tamil language film starring Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini. The film was co-written and directed by A. S. A. Samy, produced by M. Somasundaram under Jupiter Pictures, and musical score by Viswanathan–Ramam ...

'', '' Anbu'' (1953), ''Kaattu Roja'', ''

Thillana Mohanambal ''Thillana Mohanambal'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and T. S. Balaiah, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh and Manorama in supporting r ...

'' (1968), ''Vietnam Veedu'', ''

Edhir Paradhathu ''Edhir Paradhathu'' () is a 1954 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Ch. Narayana Moorthy and written by C. V. Sridhar. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini, with V. Nagayya, S. V. Sahasranamam, S. Varalakshmi and F ...

'', Sri Valli (1961). Other projects include ''Mangayar Thilakam'' and ''

Poove Poochudava ''Poove Poochooda Vaa'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Fazil, starring Padmini, S. Ve. Shekher, Nadhiya and Jaishankar. It is a remake of his own Malayalam film ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' and also marked t ...

'' (1985), Thaikku Oru Thalattu (1986),

Lakshmi Vandhachu ''Lakshmi Vandhachu'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language film directed by Rajasekhar. The film stars Revathi in the title role along with Sivaji Ganesan and Padmini. It is a remake of the 1980 Hindi film ''Khubsoorat''. The film was released ...

(1986) and

Aayiram Kannudayaal ''Aayiram Kannudayaal'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language film directed by K. Shankar for Sasivarnam Films, produced by R. Jambunaathan. It stars Padmini, Jeevitha, Prabha and Baby Shalini . Cast * Padmini * Jeevitha * Prabha * Baby Sha ...

(1986). Some of her Malayalam films include ''Prasanna'', ''Snehaseema'', ''Vivaahitha'', ''Adhyaapika'', ''

Kumara Sambhavam ''Kumara Sambhavam'' is a 1969 Indian Malayalam-language Hindu mythological film directed and produced by P. Subramaniam. Based on the epic poem of the poet Kalidasa of the same name, it stars Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, Srividya and Thikkurissy ...

'' (a 1969 Tamil/Malayalam bilingual), ''

Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Fazil, and starring Mohanlal, Nadhiya, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by Jo ...

'' (1984). Whereas ''Vasthuhara'' and ''Dolar'' marked the latter's last few films in her acting career and in Malayalam too after which, she immediately retired as an actress and hasn't appeared in any movies since. In two of her Bollywood films— ''

Mera Naam Joker ''Mera Naam Joker'' () is a 1970 Indian Hindi romance drama film, directed, edited and produced by Raj Kapoor under his banner R. K. Films, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raj Kapoor as the eponymous character, with his son ...

'' (1970), also

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films. He was the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards and a National Film Award. Born into t ...

's debut film and '' Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai'' (1960), she was paired with

. She did another film with Raj Kapoor – ''Aashiq'' (1962). Her other Bollywood films include ''

Amardeep (1958 film) ''Amar Deep'' () is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by T. Prakash Rao, under Sivaji Productions. The film stars Dev Anand, Vyjayanthimala, Padmini, Ragini, Johnny Walker, Pran, Om Prakash. The film's music was com ...

'', ''Payal'' (1957), ''Afsana'' (1966), ''Vaasna'' (1968), ''Chanda Aur Bijli'' (1969) and

Babubhai Mistry Babubhai Mistry (5 September 1918 – 20 December 2010) was an Indian film director and special effects pioneer who is best known for his films based on Hindu mythology, such as ''Sampoorna Ramayana'' (1961), ''Mahabharat'' (1965), and ''Parasm ...

's ''

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

'' (1965). Her most famous was ''

''- a Tamil film where she plays a dancer competing against a musician to see, whose skills are better. She also acted in a 1957 Indian-Soviet film ''Journey Beyond Three Seas'' (Hindi version: ''Pardesi'') based on the travelogues of Russian traveler Afanasy Nikitin, called ''A Journey Beyond the Three Seas.''

Personal life

In 1961, Padmini married Ramachandran, a U.S.-based physician. She immediately retired from films, joined her husband in the United States, and focused on family life. The couple had one son, born in 1963, who now lives in

Hillsdale, New Jersey Hillsdale is a borough in the New York City metropolitan area in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 10,219, Sixteen years after her wedding, in 1977, Padmini opened a classical dance school in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, named the Padmini School of Fine Arts. Today, her school is considered one of the largest Indian classical dance institutions in America.. Actress Sukumari was the maternal first cousin of Padmini and her sisters (the

Shobana Shobana Chandrakumar Pillai (born 21 March 1970) is an Indian actress and Bharatanatyam dancer. She acts predominantly in Malayalam films along with Telugu and Tamil films with few Hindi, Kannada and English films. She has won two National Fil ...

, the famous dancer, is the niece of Padmini. Malayalam actress

Ambika Sukumaran Ambika may refer to: Mythology * Ambika (goddess), an avatar of the Hindu goddesses Durga, Parvati, and Shakti * Ambika (Jainism), a Jain Yakshini goddess * Ambika (Mahabharata), the wife of Vichitravirya was also the mother of Dhritarashtra, th ...

is her relative. Actors

Vineeth Vineeth Radhakrishnan (born 23 August 1969) is an Indian actor, classical dancer, voice artist and choreographer who primarily works in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films. He has also starred in a few Kannada and Bollywood films. He h ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

are among her relatives. Padmini died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the Chennai Apollo Hospital on 24 September 2006 (aged 76 at the time). She was hospitalized on the previous day when she suffered a fatal heart attack during a meeting with the then Tamil Nadu CM M. Karunanidhi. She was survived by a son, who is settled in the United States. Padmini was well known for her professional rivalry with actress

Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala (born 13 August 1936) is a former Indian actress, dancer and parliamentarian. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two BFJA Awards and five Filmfare Awards. She made her screen debut at the age of thirteen wit ...

, the successful dancer-actress. They performed a dance number in the Tamil film '' Vanjikottai Valiban''; the well-known song was "

Kannum Kannum Kalanthu "Kannum Kannum Kalanthu" is a Tamil song from the 1958 film '' Vanjikottai Valiban'', directed by S. S. Vasan. The song was composed by C. Ramchandra, and R.Vaidyanathan, lyrics penned by Kothamangalam Subbu and sung by P. Leela and Jikki. The ...

", which was sung by

P. Leela Porayathu Leela (19 May 1934 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian playback singer, Carnatic vocalist and a music director. She has recorded more than 5,000 songs in various Indian languages including Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, ...

and

Jikki Pillavalu Gajapathy Krishnaveni (3 November 1935 – 16 August 2004), more famously known as Jikki, was an Indian playback singer from Andhra Pradesh. She sang around 10,000 songs in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, and Sinhalese langua ...

. In the song, they were pitted against each other. Due to their professional rivalry, the song has a cult following since the film was released.

Awards

;Won *1954 – Film Fans Association Award for Best Actress *1957 – The "Best Classical Dancer Award" from Moscow Youth Festival *1958 –

Kalaimamani The Kalaimamani is the highest civilian award in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. These awards are given by the ''Tamil Nadu Iyal Isai Nataka Mandram'' (literature, music and theatre), a unit of the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of ...

Award from the Government of Madras State *1959 – Film Fans Association Award for Best Actress *1960 – Certificate of Merit for ''

Veerapandiya Kattabomman Veerapandiya Kattabomman was an 18th-century Tamil Palayakarrar and king of Panchalankurichi in Tamil Nadu, India. He refused to accept the sovereignty of the British East India Company and waged a war against them. He was captured by the Briti ...

'' at the Afro-Asian Film Festival *1961 – Film Fans Association Award for Best Actress * 1966 –

Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting 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 supporting role. Although the Filmfare ...

for ''

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, Mumtaz, Mehmood, Durga Khote, Helen. The film's music is by Ravi. The film i ...

'' *1966 – Film Fans Association Award for Best Actress * 1970 –

Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress is given by the state government as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil (Kollywood) films. The awards were first given in 1967 and discontinued after 1970. The awards were giv ...

for ''

Thillaanaa Mohanambal ''Thillana Mohanambal'' () is a 1968 Indian Tamil-language musical drama film written, directed and produced by A. P. Nagarajan. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and T. S. Balaiah, with A. V. M. Rajan, Nagesh and Manorama in supporting r ...

'' * 1990 –

Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award – South The Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards South ceremony. Recipients Notes References General * Specific External links 55th Filmfare Awards South Winners {{DEF ...

* 2000 –

Tamil Nadu State Film Honorary Award The Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Honorary Award given by the ''Tamil Nadu State Government'' as part of its annual Tamil Nadu State Film Awards for Tamil cinema personalities who contributed in developing the Tamil cinema in India. Arignar A ...

– Kalaivanar Award ; Nominated * 1960 – Filmfare Best Actress Award for '' Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai''

Filmography

Endorsements

* Lux * Filmfare Magazines * Star & Style * Remy Talcum Powder

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Padmini 1932 births 2006 deaths Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses from Thiruvananthapuram Filmfare Awards winners Actresses in Malayalam cinema Tamil Nadu State Film Awards winners 20th-century Indian actresses Women of the Kingdom of Travancore People of the Kingdom of Travancore Actresses in Telugu cinema Indian film actresses Actresses in Malayalam television Indian television actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema 21st-century Indian actresses Actresses in Tamil television Actresses in Hindi television