# Padmini Kolhapure
**Padmini Kolhapure** (born 1965) is an Indian actress, singer, and producer known for her work in Hindi and [Marathi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/marathi-cinema), where she rose from a child artist to one of the leading actresses of the 1980s.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) Her career spans more than four decades, and she is remembered for award-winning performances in *Insaf Ka Tarazu* (1980), *Ahista Ahista* (1981), and *Prem Rog* (1982).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) • [2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/awards/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965, Maharashtra, India[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/) |
| Breakthrough | The young Roopa in Raj Kapoor's *Satyam Shivam Sundaram* (1978)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) |
| Filmfare Awards | Best Supporting Actress for *Insaf Ka Tarazu* (1981 ceremony); Special Award for *Ahista Ahista* (1982); Best Actress for *Prem Rog* (1983)[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/awards/) |
| 1980s successes | *Vidhaata* (1982), *Woh Saat Din* (1983), *Souten* (1983), and *Pyar Jhukta Nahin* (1985) opposite Mithun Chakraborty[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) |
| Hiatus and production | Left acting in her early twenties after marrying producer Pradeep (Tutu) Sharma in 1986; produced *Rockford* (1999)[4](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/about-turn-2/) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) |
| Return and Marathi cinema | Screen Award for Best Actress in Marathi for *Chimani Pakhar* (2000)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) |
| Recent work | *Phata Poster Nikhla Hero* (2013), *Panipat* (2019), *Prawaas* (2020), and the television series *Dil Bekaraar* (2021)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) |
## Family and musical background
Kolhapure was born into a Marathi and Konkani family from Kolhapur, Maharashtra, the second of three daughters of the musician Pandharinath Kolhapure and Nirupama Kolhapure.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) Her great-aunts are the singers [Lata Mangeshkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/lata-mangeshkar) and [Asha Bhosle](https://www.edgepedia.org/asha-bhosle), and her sisters Shivangi and [Tejaswini Kolhapure](https://www.edgepedia.org/tejaswini-kolhapure) also entered the film world.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/) Music and acting ran in the family from the start: she sang as a child, and it was her cousin Asha Bhosle who recommended her to Dev Anand, leading to her screen debut as a child artist.[5](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/padmini-kolhapure-nm-471/biography) • [6](https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/padmini-kolhapure-i-got-my-first-film-because-of-asha-bhosle-atya-101776079988299.html) She later recorded an album with the composer Bappi Lahiri.[4](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/about-turn-2/)
## Child artist and breakthrough
Kolhapure began acting at the age of seven, and her early child-artist roles included *Zindagi* (1976) and *Dream Girl* (1977).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) Her breakthrough came in [Raj Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/raj-kapoor)'s *Satyam Shivam Sundaram* (1978), in which she played the young Roopa, the character played as an adult by [Zeenat Aman](https://www.edgepedia.org/zeenat-aman).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) • [7](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/padmini-kolhapure) The role made her instantly known, and she repeated the pairing with Zeenat Aman in B.R. Chopra's *Insaf Ka Tarazu* (1980), playing a young rape victim, a controversial part that brought her wide attention.[7](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/padmini-kolhapure)
## Awards in three consecutive years
**A rapid run of honors.** Kolhapure won the [Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-supporting-actress) for *Insaf Ka Tarazu* at the 1981 ceremony.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/awards/) Sources disagree on her age at the time: IMDb states she was 13,[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) while [The Indian Express](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-indian-express) states she was 15.[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/) *Ahista Ahista* (1981) won her a Filmfare Special Award for Outstanding Performance in 1982, and *Prem Rog* (1982), opposite [Rishi Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/rishi-kapoor), won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress in 1983.[2](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/awards/) She was 17 when she won the Best Actress award, and one retrospective account describes her as the second-youngest recipient in the category.[8](https://cdnc.heyzine.com/files/uploaded/bd50edf139837ccf70c8adc4b5c022cefece0ca4-2.pdf) Kolhapure herself downplayed the streak, recalling that the family did not even hold a party to celebrate.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/)
## Leading lady of the 1980s
Through the decade Kolhapure was one of [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema)'s busiest leading actresses, with more than 100 films to her credit over her career according to IMDb.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) Her first adult lead was in [Nasir Hussain](https://www.edgepedia.org/nasir-hussain)'s *Zamaane Ko Dikhana Hai* opposite Rishi Kapoor.[7](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/padmini-kolhapure) Box office successes followed with *Vidhaata* (1982), *Woh Saat Din* (1983), *Souten* (1983), and *Pyar Jhukta Nahin* (1985) opposite [Mithun Chakraborty](https://www.edgepedia.org/mithun-chakraborty), a pairing audiences received well and repeated in several films, including *Swarg Se Sunder* (1986), *Aisa Pyar Kahan* (1986), *Muddat* (1986), *Sagar Sangam* (1988), *Daata* (1989), and *Dana Paani* (1989).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) She was noted during these years for her professionalism, often working despite personal challenges.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/)
## Marriage, hiatus, and return
Kolhapure married the producer [Pradeep Sharma](https://www.edgepedia.org/pradeep-sharma), known as Tutu Sharma, in 1986, and left acting to settle into family life.[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/) Accounts differ slightly on the age at which she stepped away: The Indian Express's Pune report says she left it all at 22,[4](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/about-turn-2/) while a Times of India interview says she quit after her marriage at 21.[9](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/padmini-kolhapure-may-have-done-only-two-films-with-raj-kapoor-but-she-fully-considers-herself-a-raj-kapoor-girl-/articleshow/22516382.cms) During the 1990s hiatus she turned to production, producing the film *Rockford* (1999).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/)
She returned to acting in the 2000s with performances in both Hindi and Marathi films.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) Her work in the Marathi film *Chimani Pakhar* (2000) earned her a Screen Award for Best Actress in Marathi.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) Later Hindi roles included Savitri, the mother played opposite [Shahid Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/shahid-kapoor), in *Phata Poster Nikhla Hero* (2013), and Gopika Bai in the historical *[Panipat](https://www.edgepedia.org/panipat-film)* (2019).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) • [3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/) In Marathi cinema she appeared in *Manthan: Ek Amrut Pyala* and *Prawaas* (2020).[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/)
## Television and recent work
Kolhapure made her television debut in *Ekk Nayi Pehchaan* and later appeared in the web series *Dil Bekaraar* (2021), playing Bhudevi across ten episodes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) In 2025 she played the Rajmata in the television series *Chakravarti Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan*, appearing in 86 episodes; she said she drew on historical texts and folk accounts to build the character of a queen, mother, and strategist.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/) • [10](https://www.yugmarg.com/edition/2025/06/04/pages.pdf)
Beyond acting, she runs the boutique PadmaSitaa and acting schools that train young performers, and she was elected Vice President of CINTAA, the film industry's artists' association, in 2024.[8](https://cdnc.heyzine.com/files/uploaded/bd50edf139837ccf70c8adc4b5c022cefece0ca4-2.pdf) Her son, Priyaank Sharma, from her marriage to Pradeep Sharma, has entered the film industry.[3](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/)
## References
1. [Padmini Kolhapure, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/)
2. [Padmini Kolhapure – Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0464075/awards/)
3. [Padmini Kolhapure: News, Movies, Photos & Updates, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/about/padmini-kolhapure/)
4. [About turn, Pune News, The Indian Express (December 13, 2009)](https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/about-turn-2/)
5. [Padmini Kolhapure – Full Biography & Life Story, BollywoodMDB](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/padmini-kolhapure-nm-471/biography)
6. [Padmini Kolhapure: I got my first film because of Asha Bhosle atya, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/cinema/padmini-kolhapure-i-got-my-first-film-because-of-asha-bhosle-atya-101776079988299.html)
7. [Padmini Kolhapure — Filmography & Biography, Indian Film History](https://www.indianfilmhistory.com/actor/padmini-kolhapure)
8. [Feature page on Padmini Kolhapure, February 4, 2026 magazine edition](https://cdnc.heyzine.com/files/uploaded/bd50edf139837ccf70c8adc4b5c022cefece0ca4-2.pdf)
9. [If I had my way, I would have worked with Raj Kapoor all my life: Padmini Kolhapure, The Times of India (September 13, 2013)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/padmini-kolhapure-may-have-done-only-two-films-with-raj-kapoor-but-she-fully-considers-herself-a-raj-kapoor-girl-/articleshow/22516382.cms)
10. [Yugmarg edition, June 4, 2025](https://www.yugmarg.com/edition/2025/06/04/pages.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Hindi film actors, 1970s–1980s › Surnames symbols to K*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license