At the age of just 23, this beautiful and rising actress was brutally murdered by her own driver.
Queen Padmini, beautiful and talented like an apsara
Rani Padmini was born in 1962 in Chennai (then Madras). His mother Indra Kumari herself was a well-known dubbing artist. Indra wanted her daughter to become a big heroine of cinema one day. To fulfill this dream, he named his daughter ‘Padmini’, which was inspired by the famous actress and dancer of that time, Padmini. Since childhood, Indra trained her daughter in classical dance, acting and camera facing. When Padmini reached adolescence, mother and daughter moved to Mumbai to try their luck in Bollywood.
Got my first chance in cinema after struggle
Padmini and her mother struggled a lot in Mumbai. Initially limited to small commercials and dance performances. Then in 1981, he got his first opportunity from the Malayalam film ‘Valangum Veenayam’, although his role in it was small, but his acting was appreciated. After this, Padmini got recognition from the film ‘Sankarsham’. Gradually he made a name for himself in Malayalam, Tamil and Kannada cinema. He worked with big stars of that era like Mohanlal, Mammootty, Mike Mohan, Karthi and Rajkumar Sethupathi. Overall, Rani Padmini acted in about 60 films and was counted among the fastest rising actresses of South India.
Bought a bungalow with mother, started a happy life
After success, Padmini, with her hard work, bought a luxurious six-room bungalow in Anna Nagar, Chennai. She started living here with her mother Indra. Life had become stable – work was available, name and money were there. Still he did not give up the habit of helping his family and the needy. To manage the household, he advertised in the newspaper that he needed a cook, a watchman and a driver.
Driver’s anger took the actress’s life
After some time, Padmini hired a driver, but soon started getting irritated by his nature. One day when Padmini returned home from shooting, the driver slapped her during an argument over some issue. Angered by this, he immediately fired him from his job. After this, the fire of revenge burned in the driver’s mind. He conspired with the cook and the watchman to commit theft and murder in the house. On the night of 17 October 1985, Driver entered the house carrying a large knife. When mother Indra Kumari saw him, she attacked him. As soon as Rani Padmini came running after hearing the scream, the driver stabbed her 17 times with a knife on her chest and body. Queen Padmini fell there bleeding. By the time the neighbors arrived, this shining star had extinguished forever.
Mourning across the country, police soon caught the killer
As soon as this news spread, there was a wave of mourning in the film industry and the entire country. Hundreds of artists reached Chennai and took part in his last journey. Artists like Mammootty and Mohanlal said that they had never seen such a talented actress at such a young age. After investigation, the police arrested the driver and his associates. In the trial, the driver was sentenced to life imprisonment.
A bright life ended in just 23 years
The death of Rani Padmini had raised a big question on the safety of women artists at that time. Her mother Indra created ‘Rani Padmini Memorial Trust’ in her daughter’s name, which even today works to connect poor children with education and security.
A beautiful face, a painful story
Rani Padmini was not only an example of beauty, but was also a symbol of hard work and struggle. His death showed how much insecurity and pain is hidden behind the filmy glamour.