Padmini Kolhapure was a famous Hindi film heroine in the 1980s.Padmini Kolhapure is one of the finest actress India has produced. Beginning her career as a child actress in Dev Anand's 'Ishk Ishk Ishk' and Raj Kapoor's 'Satyam Shivam Sundram' she went on to become a rage in the Eighties.
Padmini was born to a middle-class Maharashtrian family in 1965. Her father was a classical singer and her mother had a job working for the airlines. Her father's first cousins are singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, and as a child was in the chorus for some of their songs. Her sister Shivangi is married to famous actor Shakti Kapoor.
The buds for both acting and music were in her blood.Padmini's paternal grandmother and the legendary Dinanath Mangeshkar were sister and brother. Her grandfather Krishnarao Kolhapure, along with Dinanath Mangeshkar and Chintamani Kolhatkar owned the Balwant Naatak Company, and in these plays Krishnarao would always do all the female roles.
Her grandmother and both of her paternal aunts wanted her sister Shivangi and her to become actors, but as kids they were more inclined towards music.As kids, they would sing in films songs right from the early s under R.D.Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Kalyanji-Anandji.
Padmini first faced the camera for "Ek Khilari Bawan Pattey" ( a humble film made in 1970 during Vinod Khanna's pre-fame days) in which she doubled up for a child artiste who fell sick. "My neighbour was filmmaker B.S.Thapa and he called me for the role."
When she recorded 'Yaadon ki baaraat...', the title-song of the Nasir Husain blockbuster with Lata Mangeshkar and sister Shivangi, the sisters' voices went in a joint chorus on three child artistes, one of whom was Aamir Khan.
Asha Bhosle introduced Padmini to Dev Anand at the recording of "Ishq Ishq Ishq" as her bhatiji (niece) who could also act and she ended up playing the sixth sister in the film. This led to other films, such as "Dreamgirl"(1978), "Zindagi", "Saajan Bina Suhagan" (1978), etc.
Her mother quit her airlines job to be a full-time chaperone as Padmini picked up more roles. Her most famous child role was playing Zeenat Aman as a child in Raj Kapoor's film "Satyam Shivam Sundaram" (1977). The memorable song "yashomati maiye se" was picturized on her, with playback singing done none other than by her relative Lata Mangeshkar.
The success of that song led to her most controversial role in "Insaaf Ka Tarazu" (1980), remake of the American film "Lipstick" (1976), where she played the rape victim that was originally played by Mariel Hemingway. She became a household name and earned the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award.
She also graduated to heroine roles at seventeen in Nasir Hussain's "Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai" opposite Rishi Kapoor. The film flopped, but she reunited with Rishi Kapoor for his father Raj Kapoor's film "Prem Rog" (1982). The film earned her a Filmfare Best Actress Award. She also won a special acting award for "Ahista Ahista"(1982).
Padmini is particulary known for her bold and brazen acts in movies like "Gehrai","Insaaf Ka Taruzu", "Anubhav" and "Pathar Dil".Her fans and people loved her for her brazen style of acting that many of other Indian actresses could not and would not do in the then conservative Indian society. Another notable fact, in her movies when singing she is most of the time actually singing the songs, being a singer herself unlike most of the actors and actresses.
Padmini was also known for her professionalism and diligence. She even worked when she had a fever on "Do Dilon ki Dastaan". She had more box office hits, such as "Vidhaata" (1982) and "Souten" (1983). She had a huge hit with "Pyar Jhukta Nahin" (1985) with Mithun Chakraborty, and they were paired together in several more films.
Padmini also has to her credit the only song in world cinema in which one actor has had seven playback voices - 'Saat saheliyaan...' in Vidhaata - Hemlata, Kanchan, Anuradha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Sadhana Sargam, sister Shivangi and Padmini herself sang the chartbuster with Kishore Kumar under Kalyanji-Anandji for the Shammi Kapoor-Padmini Kolhapure dance number.
A striking feature of the actor's career is her getting to work with so many legends - Dev Anand (besides Ishq Ishq Ishq and Darling Darling also romantically in Swami Dada), Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar (Vidhaata, Mazdoor, Aag Ka Darya) as also with Shammi Kapoor (Ahista Ahista, Prem Rog, Vidhaata, Daata), Rajendra Kumar (Lovers, Star), Raj Kumar (romantically in Ek Nai Paheli), Sanjeev Kumar (Zindagi and romantically in Professor Ki Padosan), Nutan (Saajan Bina Suhagan, Teri Maang Sitaron Se Bhar Doon), Mala Sinha (Zindagi), Nanda (Ahista Ahista, Prem Rog, Mazdoor) and Tanuja (Lovers, Suhagan).
She fell in love with producer Tutu Sharma after he cast her in "Aisa Pyar Kahan". They married and she retired from films at the tender age of 22. She has a son with him named Priyank. After her son grew up, she returned to acting in 2004, such as for the Marathi film "Manthan". She has also acted in new films such as "Eight".
She was set to play the role of Tulsi Virani in "Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi" after Smriti Irani left but then the role was offered to Gautami Kapoor.