Padmini Kolhapure
Padmini Kolhapure (Marathi: पद्मिनी कोल्हापुरे; born 1 November 1965) is an Indian actress who appeared primarily in Bollywood films during the 1980s. She made her television debut portraying Pallavi Modi in the Sony Entertainment Television India series Ekk Nayi Pehchaan.
Early life
Padmini Kolhapure was born second among the three daughters of Pandharinath Kolhapure, a professional musician, by his wife Anupama Kolhapure. Her younger sisters are the former actress Tejaswini Kolhapure, and Shivangi Kapoor, wife of actor Shakti Kapoor and mother of actress Shraddha Kapoor.
Padmini's family belongs to the Gomantak Maratha Samaj, the major Devadasi community of Maharashtra state, whose ancestral vocation is the performing arts (singing and dancing). The family took the surname "Kolhapure" because they hailed from Kolhapur. Padmini's father, Pandharinath Kolhapure, was a talented vocalist and Veena player. He was the son of Master Krishna Rao (sometimes referred to as Krishnarao Kolhapure), an exponent of Natya Sangeet who had enjoyed the patronage of the Baroda Durbar. Pandharinath's mother was the sister of Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, and the natural sister of Balwantrao Abhisheki, the father of vocalist Jitendra Abhisheki. Thus, Padmini is a niece of legendary singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. Indeed, the two families has always enjoyed close ties. Master Krishna Rao and his brother-in-law Master Deenanath Mangeshkar, together with Chintamanrao Kolhatkar, had once founded their own theatre troupe known as "Balwant Mandali," which however met with only moderate success. Padmini's mother, Anupama Kolhapure, was born into a Konkani-speaking Saraswat Brahmin family belonging to Mangalore in Karnataka. She formerly used to work as ground staff with Air India.