Padmarani, also spelled as Padma Rani, (25 January 1937 25 January 2016) was an Indian actress who performed in Gujarati plays, Gujarati films, and

Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Hollywood". The industry, producing films in th ...

Early life

Padmarani was born to a Maharashtrian family in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

on 25 January 1937. She was brought up in Kanabi Vad, Unchi Pol on Rajmahal Road in

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. Her father, Bhimrao Bhosle, was a barrister, and her mother, Kamlabai Rane, was from

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

. She was young when her family encountered a period of financial hardship, and she and her sister, later a veteran actress

Sarita Joshi Sarita Joshi (''née'' Bhosle) is an Indian actress. Cited amongst the finest and most significant actors of Gujarati and Marathi theatre Marathi theatre is theatre in the Marathi language, mostly originating or based in the state of Maha ...

, began performing on stage to help. She completed her primary education from Govindrao Central School in Dandiya Bazar, Vadodara. She along with her sister caught the eye of Faredoon Irani, father of

Aruna Irani Aruna Irani (born 18 August 1946) is an Indian actress, who has acted in over 500 films throughout Hindi, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, playing mostly supporting and character roles. She received two Filmfare Awards for Best Support ...

, while acting in a play of Ramanlal Murtivala in Vadodara. He took them to Mumbai. At the age of eighteen, Padmarani married Namdar Irani, uncle of Aruna Irani, who was a

zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

and member of the

Parsi The Parsis or Parsees () are a Zoroastrian ethnic group in the Indian subcontinent. They are descended from Persian refugees who migrated to the Indian subcontinent during and after the Arab-Islamic conquest of Iran in the 7th century, w ...

family and a theatre director.

Career

Padmarani performed in over 6,000

Gujarati theatre Gujarati theatre refers to theatre performed in the Gujarati language, including its Gujarati language#Dialects, dialects. Gujarati theatre is produced mainly in Gujarat and Maharashtra, in cities like Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Baroda, Surat and els ...

shows. Padmarani was a lead actress in number of popular plays, including ''Baa Retire Thai Chhe'', ''Baa E Maari Boundary'', ''Kevda Na Dankh'', ''Saptapadi'', ''Chandarwo'', ''5 Star Aunty'' and ''Vachan''. In the final decades of her life, Padmarani increasingly played maternal lead roles. Her last play was, ''Amari To Arjee Baki Tamari Marjee''. She worked with Arvind Rathod, a well known Gujarati actor, in numerous plays, including ''Baa Retire Thai Chhe''. She acted in more than 200 Gujarati films. The 1961 film ''Narsaiyyani Hundi'' was her first

Gujarati film Gujarati cinema, also known as Dhollywood, is the segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema, dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Gujarati language widely spoken in the state of Gujarat. It is based in Ahmedabad. It is one ...

. In 1963, she acted in ''Akhand Saubhagyavati'' alongside

Asha Parekh Asha Parekh (born 2 October 1942) is an Indian actress, film director, and producer who worked in Hindi films. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses of Hindi cinema, Parekh has worked in more than 85 films, in a career spanning over four d ...

. In 1966, Padmarani acted in '' Kalapi'', based on the life of Gujarati royal and poet, Kalapi, where she played the princess wife of Kalapi, who was played by

Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. Considered as one of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema, he is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. ...

. She also acted in several successful Gujarati films including ''Janamtip'' (1969), ''Patli Parmar'' (1978) with

Upendra Trivedi Upendra Jethalal Trivedi (14 July 1936 4 January 2015) was an Indian film and stage actor, director and producer who was one of the most prolific actors of Gujarati cinema. As an actor films like '' Mehndi Rang Lagyo'' (1960), ''Jogidas Khuman' ...

, ''Gangasati'' (1979), ''Lohini Sagaai'' (1980), ''Kasumbi No Rang'', ''Shamal Shah No Vivah'' and ''Bhagat Peepaji'' (1980), which was based on the life of the poet Bhagat Pipa. Padmarani also acted in some

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films including her major debut '' Kanyadaan'' (1968) where she played the talkative but perceptive Gulabi, ''Parivar'' (1968), ''Veer Ghatotkach'' (1970), ''

Jai Santoshi Maa ''Jai Santoshi Maa'' is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language devotional film directed by Vijay Sharma and written R. Priyadarshi. Santoshī Mā (also called Santoshi Mata) is the goddess of satisfaction. Usha Mangeshkar, sang the devotional songs for t ...

'' (1975), '' Dil'' (1990) and '' Zaalim'' (1994). Her TV serial Naqaab starring Bengali actor

Anil Chatterjee Anil Chatterjee (also Chattopadhyay, ; 25 October 1929 – 17 March 1996) was an Indian actor in the Bengali cinema during the early fifties through the mid-nineties and is mostly remembered as a character actor. He acted or performed in about ...

was appreciated by critics and viewers alike. She enacted a nurse to an ageing actor (Chatterji). There was another serial of

Himesh Reshammiya Himesh Reshammiya (born 23 July 1973) is an Indian playback singer, music director, songwriter, film and music producer, and actor in Hindi cinema, with over 1,300 songs to his credit as a music director. He started his career as a music direct ...

and Padmarani acted in more than 1000 episodes of the TV show ''Swapna Kinare''. Padmarani died on her 79th birthday, 25 January 2016 in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

following complications in lungs due to viral infection.

Personal life

Padmarani and Namdar Irani had a daughter, Daisy Irani, who also took up acting. She settled in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

after marriage.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hindi TV Shows Gujarati theatre Indian film actresses 20th-century Indian actresses Indian stage actresses 1937 births 2016 deaths Actresses in Gujarati cinema Actresses from Pune People from Vadodara Actresses from Mumbai