Padmini Ramachandran (12 June 1932 – 24 September 2006) was an Indian actress and trained Bharatanatyam dancer, who acted in over 250 Indian films. She acted in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Russian language films. Padmini, with her elder sister Lalitha and her younger sister Ragini, were called the "Travancore sisters".
Early life
Padmini was born and raised in Trivandrum (present-day Thiruvananthapuram), in what was then the princely state of Travancore (now the Indian state of Kerala) to a Malayali-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, M. G. Ramachandran, N. T. Rama Rao, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Sathyan, Prem Nazir, Rajkumar, Gemini Ganesan and S. S. Rajendran. Ezhai Padum Padu, released in 1950, was her first film in Tamil. V A Gopalakrishnan taught Padmini sisters Tamil since their mother-tongue was Malayalam. 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) (1958), Thanga Padhumai, Anbu (1953), Kaattu Roja, Thillana Mohanambal (1968), Vietnam Veedu, Edhir Paradhathu, Sri Valli (1961). Other projects include Mangayar Thilakam and Poove Poochudava (1985), Thaikku Oru Thalattu (1986), Lakshmi Vandhachu (1986) and Aayiram Kannudayaal (1986). Some of her Malayalam films include Prasanna, Snehaseema, Vivaahitha, Adhyaapika, Kumara Sambhavam (a 1969 Tamil/Malayalam bilingual), Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu (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 (1970), also Rishi Kapoor's debut film and Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), she was paired with Raj Kapoor. She did another film with Raj Kapoor – Aashiq (1962). Her other Bollywood films include Amardeep (1958), Payal (1957), Afsana (1966), Vaasna (1968), Chanda Aur Bijli (1969) and Babubhai Mistry's Mahabharat (1965). Her most famous 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 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.
