The history of Indian cinema is not made up of only good films and stories, but also of those special artists who have made a big impact in their short careers. One such artist was 'Padmini', she was not only a beautiful actress, but was also adept in classical dance. She may not have been in films for a long time, but she was so skilled in her art that the viewers could not stop appreciating her. In those days, audiences used to compare her with legendary actress Vyjayanthimala.
Vyjayanthimala and Padmini's face off
In those days, Vyjayanthimala was known as a great actress as well as a brilliant Bharatnatyam dancer. It is said that due to this, there was always competition between the two. In the 1958 film 'Raj Tilak', the dance face-off between Padmini and Vyjayanthimala was in the headlines. Both performed on the song Aaja Raja Bekarar. Apart from this, a tough dance competition was also seen between the two in the film 'Vanjikottai Veliban'.
Who was Padmini?
Padmini was born on June 12, 1932 in Trivandrum, Kerala and belonged to a Malayalam family. At the age of 16, she entered the film world and appeared in the Hindi film 'Kalpana'. In this film, she was cast as a dancer. In the film, she charmed the audience with her classical dance. Her sister Lalita was also in this film. Padmini had two more sisters, Ragini and Lalita. All three were called 'Travancore Sisters'. The world saluted their ability. Padmini's film career lasted for about 30 years. She worked in more than 250 films in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Telugu languages.
She did many films like 'Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai', 'Afsana', 'Chanda Aur Bijli', 'Ragini', 'Amardeep', 'Rajtilak', 'Mera Naam Joker', 'Aashiq', 'Bhai-Behan', 'Dard Ka Rishta', 'Mastana', 'Pardesi'. She worked with famous actors like Raj Kapoor, M.G. Ramachandran, Shivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, Prem Nasir, NT Rama Rao, Satyan, Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor. The audience liked her pairing with showman Raj Kapoor a lot.
Hand at direction
She entered the world of direction through the film 'Mohabbat Ka Paigam' released in the year 1989. Apart from acting and direction, Padmini also tried her luck in the political field. In 1966 and 1971, she contested Lok Sabha elections on a Congress party ticket.
After gaining fame in a few years, in 1961, she married Dr KT Ramachandran, a physician living in America, and distanced herself from the film industry. She moved to America with her husband and started focusing on her household. She gave birth to a son in 1963. In 1977, she opened a classical dance school in New Jersey, named 'Padmini School of Arts'. Today, this school is counted as the largest classical dance institution in America. Padmini breathed her last on September 24, 2006 in Chennai.
