Padmini

Biography
Born and raised in Thiruvananthapuram(Trivandrum) in what was then the princely state of Travancore (now the state of Kerala), Padmini was the second daughter of Thankappan Pillai and Sarawathi Amma. Her sisters, Lalitha and Ragini, were also renowned film actresses. Together, the threesome were known as the Travancore sisters. Padmini and her sisters were disciples of the noted dancer Guru Gopinath . They learnt Keral natanam style of dancing from him. Film director Subrahmaniam noticed her talents while she was presenting 'Parijatha Pushpapaharanam 'in Trivandrum At the age of 17, Padmini was cast as the heroine in Kalpana (1950), ...( show more

) launching her film career. She acted in films for nearly 30 years. Padmini was renowned for her linguistic ability, and dubbed her own voice onto versions of her movies destined for the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam markets. This cross-cultural linguistic ability made her a very significant figure in the history of 20th-century moviemaking in India. Padmini co-starred with several of the most well-known actors in film, including Sivaji Ganesan, M.G. Ramachandran, Raj Kapoor, Prem Nazir and Rajkumar.She had acted with Sivaji Ganesan in nearly 60 films. Some of her popular Malayalam films include Prasanna, Snehaseema, Vivaahitha, Adhyaapika, Kumaarasambhavam, Nokkethadoorath kannumnatt, Vasthuhara, Dolar, etc. She also starred in almost 400 Tamil films. Ezhai padum paadu was her first film in Tamil. Her association with superstar Sivaji Ganesan starts ith the film Panam in 1952. Some of her noted Tamil films include Anbu, Thankapadumai, Thillana Mohanambal, Viyatnam veedu, Ethir Parathadhu, Mankayar thilakam , Poove Poo chooda vaa. In two of her popular Bollywood films - Mera Naam Joker and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai - she was paired against the legendary Bollywood star, Raj Kapoor. Her other Bollywood films included Payal (1957), Babubhai Mistry's Mahabharat (1965), etc. Her most famous film was Thillana Mohanambal, a Tamil film where she plays a dancer pitted against a musician. After her marriage in 1961 Padmini semi-retired from films and focused on married life and refining her classical dance. She settled in the United States and in 1977 opened her classical dance school in New Jersey, The 'Padmini School of Fine Arts'. Her school is today one of the largest Classical Dance institutions in America. Padmini died of a heart attack in a hospital in the city of Chennai on September 24, 2006. Filomography (tamil) Vanjikottai valiban Panam Raja rani Chithi Vietnam Veedu Iru malargal Gurudakshinai Punar janmam Amara deepam Thaikku oru thaalattu Mannadhi mannan Thillana Mohanambal Saraswathi sabatham Paaladai Pesum deivam Kuzhandaikkaga Rickshawkaran Kan kanda deivam Deiva piravi Kulama gunama Thiruvarut Chelvar