Padmini

Padmini ( Malayalam പത്മിനി ; born June 12, 1932 in Trivandrum , Travancore ; † September 24, 2006 in Chennai , Tamil Nadu ) was an Indian actress and Bharatnatyam dancer. She was one of the best-known actors in the Malayalam , Tamil , Hindi and Telugu film industries, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s .

Life

Padmini was born into a family of the Nayar caste. Her sisters Lalitha and Ragini were also actresses.

She completed training in Bharatnatyam dance under Guru Gopinath. She made her film debut in 1948 as a dancer in Uday Shankar's Kalpana . She appeared in ASA Samis Velaikkari (1949) and Manthiri Kumari (1950) directed by Ellis R. Dungan and TR Sundaram - two important early films under the influence of DMK . She was seen in numerous other Tamil films together with MG Ramachandran and in particular with Sivaji Ganesan . With Ganesan and S. Varalakshmi she played in 1959 in BR Panthulus historical spectacle Veerapandiya Kattabomman , of which a Hindi version was also filmed under the title Amar Shaheed . Her most successful film was the Tamil film Thillana Mohanambal (1968) by AP Nagarajan , in which she plays a Bharatnatyam dancer who fights against a musician.

As her first role in a Hindi film, she played the female counterpart of Motilal in SS Vasan's Mr. Sampat , the film adaptation of a novel by RK Narayan in 1952 . She was partner of Raj Kapoor in two of her most popular Hindi films, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960) and Mera Naam Joker (1970) .

After spending a few years in the US from the late 1970s, she made a comeback in 1984 in Fazil's Malayalam film Nokketha Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu . In the early 1990s she withdrew from the film business. Padmini died of a heart attack .

Awards

For her role in Ram Maheshwari's Kaajal (1965), she received a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also previously nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai .

Filmography (selection)

1948: Kalpana
1949: Velaikkari
1949: Ponmudi
1949: Laila Majnu
1950: Ezhai Padum Padu / Beedala Patlu
1950: Manthiri Kumari
1952: Mr. Sampat
1953: Ammalakalu / Marumagal
1954: Ethirparadathu
1954: Snehaseema
1954: Sorgavasal
1956: Madurai Veeran
1956: Amara Deepam
1957: Voyage across three seas (Pardesi)
1958: Raj Tilak
1959: Veerapandiya Kattabomman / Amar Shaheed
1960: Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai
1961: Arasilankumari
1966: Chitthi
1967: Aurat
1967: Irutinte Atmavu
1968: Adhyapika
1968: Thillana Mohanambal
1969: Adimagal
1970: Penn Daivam
1970: Vietnam Veedu
1970: Mera Naam Joker
1984: Nokketha Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu
1990: Vasthuhara

literature

Entry to Padmini . In Ashish Rajadhyaksha, Paul Willemen: Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema , p. 168

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Padmini
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Indian actress and Bharatnatyam dancer
DATE OF BIRTH	June 12, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH	Thiruvananthapuram , Travancore
DATE OF DEATH	September 24, 2006
Place of death	Chennai , Tamil Nadu , India