The Travancore sisters refer to the trio of Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, who were actresses, dancers and performers in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Kannada films.
Sukumari Amma was an Indian actress best known for her works in Malayalam and Tamil films. In a career spanning more than five decades, She has appeared in more than 2500 films predominantly in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, along with few Hindi and one each in Sinhala, French, Bengali, Tulu, English and Kannada films. Sukumari began acting at the age of 10. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her contributions toward the arts. She won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Tamil film Namma Gramam (2010). Sukumari died on 26 March 2013 in Chennai, following a heart attack.
Padmini Ramachandran was an Indian actress and trained Bharatanatyam dancer, who acted in over 250 Indian films. She acted in Tamil, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Russian language films. Padmini, with her elder sister Lalitha and her younger sister Ragini, were called the "Travancore sisters".
Ragini was an Indian actress and dancer. She was the youngest of the Travancore Sisters; Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini. She started her acting career in the mid-1950s along with her sister Padmini and has acted in movies of different Indian languages, including Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. She also starred opposite Shammi Kapoor in film Mujrim (1958). She played the role of Parvati opposite Trilok Kapoor who played Shiva in the 1962 film Shiv Parvati. The era of dance in Hindi cinema is considered to have begun with the entrance of Ragini and other South Indian actresses. Ragini died of breast cancer in 1976. She had acted in many dramas also.
Kalpana (transl. Imagination) is a 1948 Indian Hindi-language dance film written and directed by dancer Uday Shankar. It is his only film. The story revolves around a young dancer's dream of setting up a dance academy, a reflection of Shankar's own academy, which he founded at Almora. It starred Uday Shankar and his wife Amala Shankar as leads.
Lalitha was an Indian actress and dancer. She was the eldest of the "Travancore Sisters"—Lalitha, Padmini, and Ragini. She started her acting career in the 1948 Tamil film Adhithan Kanavu and has acted in movies of different Indian languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. She entered films before her sisters, concentrating more on Malayalam films, and was mostly cast in vamp roles.
Srinivasa Kalyanam is a 1987 Telugu-language romance film directed by Kodi Ramakrishna. It stars Venkatesh, Bhanupriya, Gautami, and Mohan Babu and music composed by K. V. Mahadevan. The film was produced by K. Murari under the Yuva Chitra Arts banner. The film was a Super Hit at the box office.
Thirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa is a 1999 Indian Tamil-language comedy film directed by Rama Narayanan. The film stars Prabhu, S. Ve. Shekher, Vadivelu, Roja, Urvashi and Kovai Sarala. It was released on 4 December 1999. The film was Rama Narayanan's 100th film and was a hit at the box office. The film was remade in Telugu as Tirumala Tirupati Venkatesa (2000) with Roja and Sarala reprising their roles, and in Kannada as Yarige Beda Duddu (2001).
Ambika Sukumaran Nair is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. She is a close relative of the Travancore Sisters; Lalitha, Padmini and Ragini, and also Shobana, Vineeth, Krishna and Sukumari. Ambika also was initiated to go along that path and she debuted in Udaya Studio's film Visappinte Vili in 1952 she is also the first herion of Premnazir. In 1968, she acted as the lead actress in the first full-length comedy in Malayalam cinema Viruthan Shanku, directed by P. Venu. She acted in more than 80 movies.
Avandhan Manidhan is a 1975 Indian Tamil-language drama film, co-written and directed by A. C. Tirulokchandar from a story by G. Balasubramaniam. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Muthuraman, Jayalalithaa and Manjula. It revolves around an extremely generous man who refuses to budge from his nature, even as it leads to his downfall.
Punar Janmam (transl. Rebirth) is a 1961 Indian Tamil-language film directed by R. S. Mani. The film stars Sivaji Ganesan, Padmini and Ragini. It was released on 21 April 1961.
Marumagal (transl. Daughter-in-law) is a 1953 Indian Tamil-language drama film, produced by Lena Chettiar on Krishna Pictures banner and directed by D. Yoganand. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Padmini and Lalitha, with music composed by C. R. Subburaman. It was simultaneously shot in Telugu-language as Ammalakkalu.
Lakshmanan Vijayalakshmi is an Indian actress and classical dancer whose career was from 1959 to 1969. She appeared in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Hindi films.
Krishna Vijayam is a 1950 Indian Tamil language film written and directed by Sundar Rao Nadkarni. The film featured Carnatic music singer N. C. Vasanthakokilam in the role of Narada. The film, based on the Epic story of Krishna avatar, featured later day playback singer A. L. Raghavan as the child Krishna. Adult Krishna was played by P. V. Narasimha Bharathi.
Singari is a 1951 Indian Tamil language comedy film directed by T. R. Raghunath. The film stars T. R. Ramachandran, Lalitha and Padmini. It was released on 29 October 1951.
Bhaktha Jana is a 1948 Indian Tamil language film directed and produced by P. Pullaiah. The film featured C. Honnappa Bhagavathar, V. Nagayya and Santha Kumari with K. Sarangapani and B. R. Panthulu playing supporting roles.
Inspector is a 1953 Indian Tamil language film directed by R. S. Mani. It is an adaptation of the play of the same name. The film stars T. K. Shanmugam, S. Balachander, Anjali Devi and P. K. Saraswathi.
Bhama Vijayam is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced by Somasekhar and Radha Krishna, and directed by C.Pulliah. It stars N. T. Rama Rao and Devika, with music composed by T. V. Raju. The film is based on Gollabhama (1947) which itself is based on the stories of Kaasi Majililu written in Telugu by Madhira Subbanna Deekshitulu.
Vijaya Gauri is a 1955 Telugu-language swashbuckler film, produced by Krishna Pictures banner and directed by D. Yoganand. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Padmini and music composed by G. Ramanathan and Viswanathan–Ramamoorthy.
Tirumala Tirupati Venkatesa is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language comedy film directed by Sathibabu, an assistant to E. V. V. Satyanarayana. The film is a remake of the Tamil film Thirupathi Ezhumalai Venkatesa (1999) and stars Srikanth, Ravi Teja, Bramhanandam, Roja, Maheswari and Kovai Sarala. The film was produced by Chanti Addala and Sreenivasa Reddy and released on December 21, 2000. The original story itself is based on Shakespeare's play Taming of the Shrew.
