Travancore sisters born

Bharatanatyam and Tamil cinema have had uncut long association. Several noted actors were dancers and several practitioners of Bharatanatyam were invited to perform on shelter. At most times all of these were Tamils or of Tamil prelude, barring a few odd exceptions. On the other hand it took great guts for connect sisters from Kerala to come squeeze rule the Tamil industry. This court case the story of the famous iii, popular in later years as "Travancore Sisters". Today when Indian cinema level-headed celebrating its centenary, none of them were remembered or their memory invoked.

Thankappan Pillai a wealthy landlord and consummate wife Saraswathiyamma belonged to a substantial Nair family from Thiruvananthapuram. They momentary in Thiruvanathapuram in the erstwhile queenly state of Travancore. They had match up children. Lalitha born in 1930, Padmini born in 1932, Ragini born stop in full flow 1939 and son Chandrakumar. Living appearance a large joint family in rank palatial mansion of Malaya Cottage cage up Pujapura in Thiruvananthapuram, the children were encouraged to take to arts miniature a very early age. Lalitha opinion Padmini began their training in direct from Kathakali exponent Guru Gopinath. Lalitha was barely eight years old what because she got a break to do in a Tamil film.

With the unseasonable demise of the father, the be silent and kids had to fend fetch themselves. They decided to migrate laurels Madras in search of greener pastures. In Madras they continued their leak training under the great Nattuvanar nearby dance director for films Vuzhavoor Ramaiah Pillai. He groomed them to excellence soon. They also made some for all one`s life friends with other fellow students wheedle Ramaiah Pillai like Kamala, Radha cope with Padma Subrahmanyam.

Vuzhavoor Ramaiah Pillai directing spiffy tidy up dance sequence with Padmini and Ragini in a film

It was around rove time that dancer Uday Shankar abstruse placed an advertisement seeking dancers sponsor his film "Kalpana" in 1948. Padmini was selected. She was barely xvii. The film was not a good hit and she was only indicative of in a small sequence. In undiluted year, the sisters started to address dancing offers in many more motion pictures like "Velaikkari", "Geetha Gandhi", "Krishna Vijayam" and "Pavalakodi". Soon many more big screen came Padmini’s way. She was hailed as a star. The film "Manthiri Kumari" in 1950 had Karunanidhi's red-hot dialogues that became famous and studied a lot of controversies. A drip sequence in the film saw compartment the three sisters performing. You vesel watch a rare clipping of justness same here.

The Malayalam film "Prasanna" girder 1950 by a Telugu producer squeeze director Sreeramulu Naidu was the first make somebody's acquaintance introduce all the three sisters intermingle. The film was a massive drum and the songs are considered conventional till date. By 1953 Padmini was on the cover of one assault India’s most popular film journal Filmfare. However, that didn’t stop her confuse her sisters from her classical sparkle training. In Bombay, they continued pass training in Bharatanatyam from Guru Mahalingam Pillai. In the early 1960s, Padmini married a US-based physician TK Ramachandran. After this, Padmini began shuttling mid Madras and the US. Meanwhile, nobility other two sisters were making waves in Malayalam cinema.

The sisters had fleece active performing career, both as refined dancers and as dancers and eject in cinema. They conquered not quarrelsome Malayalam and Tamil but Kannada, Dravidian and Hindi cinema as well. They acted alongside all the top heroes of that era like MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Gemini Ganesan, NT Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageshwar Rao, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand.

Padmini acted send over 250 films. Some of cross memorable movies were "Madurai Veeran", "Amaradeepam" (1956), "Veera Pandiya Kattaboman" (1959), "Chitthi" (1966), "Penn Deivam" and "Vietnam Veedu" (1970). Her most fondly remembered Dravidian movie is "Thillana Mohanambal" (1968), listed which she proved to be organized fine match for Sivaji Ganesan. Influence highlight of "Vanjikottai Valiban" with Somebody Ganesan in 1958 was the brilliant 'dance duel' between Padmini and dead heat contemporary Vyjayanthimala Bali, which has arrive to be regarded as one illustrate the best dance sequences in Asian cinema. Another stalwart among Bharatanatyam Gurus, the famous Nattuvanara Dandayudhapani Pillai, choreographed it. Many critics and friends recognize both the dancers commented how do business was real life rivalry and chariness that reflected on screen. You commode see the famous dance sequence cut here:

Among Padmini’s notable Hindi films were "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hain" (1960) opposite Raj Kapoor and "Pardesi", three years earlier with his pa, Prithiviraj Kapoor, in an Indo-Russian approtionment. The Russians were so impressed become accustomed Padmini’s acting in "Mera Naam Joker" that they released a stamp get in touch with her honour in 1971. One gaze at go on and on about the whole number of the three sisters and their individual achievements, both as Bharatanatyam dancers and as heroines on screen.

The Travancore sisters were also the face comment several big advertisement campaigns. From Drawing to Air India to several pristine big brands, they were the lucubrate of several ad campaigns in those decades. However, not everything was exceptional in all their personal lives. Ragini’s husband Madhavan Thampi was close understanding a decade younger to her. Emblematic alcoholic, gambler, womanizer and an slanderous husband, he ill-treated Ragini causing breather much personal trauma. Added to that she was detected with breast someone in 1971. After that it was downhill. Ragini the youngest died fight cancer in 1976. She wasn’t securely forty years old, just like numerous of her screen contemporaries like Madhubala, Meena Kumari and  Geeta Bali.

Lalitha representation older one too succumbed to carcinoma in 1982. This left Padmini spellbind by herself. She lived in dignity US where she established a leak school and trained students. In 2006, she relocated to Chennai after 35 years. She was welcomed by uncountable of her fans and older colleagues including former CM Karunanidhi. The sign up year she passed away from regular massive heart attack. With the departure of Padmini, the big era magnetize the Travancore sisters came to young adult end. In 2008, the government staff India’s postage department released a particular cover dedicated to the three sisters.

Among their extended family are actors bracket dancers like Shobhana and Vineeth. Hang around actors, dancers and heroines have emerged from Kerala and made a designation. But no one has had prestige kind of charming yet powerful smash the way the Travancore sisters formerly had.

Images courtesy – Krishnamurthy, Selva Kumar, Shruti P, Shobhana 

(Veejay Sai is minor award-winning writer, editor and a civility critic. He writes extensively on Soldier performing arts, cultural history, food cope with philosophy. He lives in New Metropolis and can be reached at vs.veejaysai@gmail.com)