Padma Khanna

Padma Khanna
Born (1949-03-10) 10 March 1949
Patna, Bihar, India
OccupationActress
Years active1961–1996
Spouse
Jagdish Sidana
​
(m. 1986)​

Padma Khanna is an Indian Bollywood actress, dancer and director. She appeared mainly in Hindi and Bhojpuri films in the 1970s and 1980s. She is most remembered for her role in the film Saudagar with Amitabh Bachchan and also as Queen Kaikeyi in Ramanand Sagar's epic series Ramayan (1987–88). She has appeared in two Telugu films with N. T. Rama Rao, in Desoddarakulu and Rajaputra Rahasyam. She also acted in Odia movie Sakshi Gopinath(1978). She has acted in Bhojpuri movie like Birhin Janam Janam ke.

Early life

Khanna was born in Patna. Since she was about age 7 she began her classical dance training in Kathak from Pandit Kishen Maharaj in Varanasi, and later continued advanced training with Gopi Krishna. She began performing on stage from the age of 12, often accompanied by notable musicians such as Pundit Shamta Prasad.[1][2]

She and was introduced to Bollywood by actresses Padmini and Vyjayanthimala.[3]

Career

Khanna debuted as an actress in the 1962 Bhojpuri film Ganga Maiyya Tohe Piyari Chadhaibo. She got her break in 1970 when she played a cabaret dancer in Johnny Mera Naam.[4] She often played dancers, appearing in films like Loafer, Jaan-e-Bahaar and Pakeezah in which she acted as a double for Meena Kumari in the opening sequence and the songs Chalo Dildaar Chalo and Teer-E-Nazar Dekhenge. In the 1980s, she played Queen Kaikeyi in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan which aired on Doordarshan.

In 2008, she choreographed and acted in a musical based on the epic Ramayana with 64 actors and dancers at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City, directed by her husband, Jagdish L. Sidana.[1] She also directed a Bhojpuri film, Nahir Hutal Jaya (2004).[5]

Personal life

She was married to the late film director Jagdish L. Sidana.[1] The couple moved to the state of New Jersey in United States in the 1990s where they opened a kathak academy. Khanna's adult children help her to run the academy.[6][7]

Filmography

Television
Hindi films
Bhojpuri films
Gujarati Films
Odia Films
  • Sakshi Gopinath(1978)
Punjabi films
  • Jindri Yaar Di (1978)
  • Sher Puttar (1978)
Marathi and Telugu film

References

  1. ^ a b c "Indian epic, universal resonance". Rediff.com, News. 23 October 2008.
  2. ^ IANS. "Padma Khanna: From Bollywood dancer to classical dance guru". Archived from the original on 30 June 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  3. ^ Admin (20 May 2011). "Padma Khanna – Interview". Cineplot.com. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
  4. ^ "Padma Khanna was one of the most vivacious dancers to grace the big screen". The Times of India. 10 March 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 14 December 2025.
  5. ^ "Mr Fancy-foot in national spotlight". The Telegraph (Kolkata). 31 December 2004. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  6. ^ Sen, Mayukh (March 2016). "THE NAUTCH QUEEN OF NEW JERSEY". roadsandkingdoms.com. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  7. ^ "Padma Khanna: From Bollywood dancer to classical dance guru". Daily Pioneer. No. 14 June 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
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