Padmini acted in more than 250 Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films since 1949.

Born in Poojappura in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, on June 12, 1932, Padmini made her debut in the Hindi film Kalpana. Her first Tamil film was Manamagal (1950) made by the legendary N S Krishnan.

Padmini paired with the late Sivaji Ganesan and M G Ramachandran in many films. She also starred with Raj Kapoor in Jis Des Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Aashiq and Mera Naam Joker.

If Gemini Ganesan-Savitiri and MGR-Saroja Devi were formidable pairs in 1950s and 1960s, the Sivaji-Padmini combination was lethal in films like Utthamaputthiran and Thillana Moganambal. Movie watchers still remember her powerful dialogue delivery in Theiva Piravi. Padmini also gave stupendous performances in MGR films like Mannaadhi Mannan, Rani Samyukta and Madurai Veeran.

Padmini was showered with accolades for her performance in the Hindi film Chanda Aur Bijli with the late Sanjeev Kumar.

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Her early Malayalam hits were Snehaseema, Umminithanga, Adhyapika, Vivahitha and Kumara Sambhavam. She ended her film career after her marriage to Dr K T Ramachandran, and left for the US, where she started the popular Padmini School of Fine Arts in New Jersey.

But she made a comeback after marriage with Malayalam films Nokkethahtadoortahtu Kannumnattu and Vashthuhara, which made her immensely popular among a new generation of film buffs.