It is in the period-piece frames of Tamil hit "Thillana Mohananambal" that the quintessential Padmini is preserved for the contemporary audience and the coming generations of film-lovers.

Padmini, who died of a cardiac arrest in Chennai Sunday night at age 74, played the role of a traditional temple dancer who falls in love with a nadaswaram (pipe music) artist, played by Sivaji Ganesan in the film. Her portrayal represents two facets of a cinematic persona that her fans remember best.

The first was her base - her brilliance in Bharatanatyam. She had been a dancer for decades, and the strict rules about steps did not always guide her nimble feet. But her prowess in the classical art form was what set her apart in even popular cinema.

And the exquisitely ornate Bharatanatyam costume and accessories seldom suited anyone so well on screen as this actress of strikingly classical features.

The other memorable aspect of her image finds illustration in the "Thillana Mohanambal" sequences, where she dances to the strains of Sivaji's nadaswaram, sending viewers and listeners into raptures even today.

This Sivaji-Padmini team was the most popular on-screen romantic pair during the prime of the careers of both actors.

"Ethirparadhadhu" (where love for Sivaji survives an air crash), "Pudhayal" (one of the less explicitly political films scripted by Karunanidhi) and "Amaradeepam" (where Padmini plays a gypsy) were among the many proofs of the pair's crowd-pulling capacity.

Padmini, of course, acted with other heroes as well. She, in fact, competed with Vyjayanthimala, also a skilled Bharatanatyam-trained actress, for Gemini Ganesan in blockbuster "Vanjikkottai Valiban".

The triangle leads to a dancing tie, which was the film's main highlight for the theatre-flocking masses.

In Hindi cinema, where Padmini achieved stardom without losing her southern base, she was legendary Raj Kapoor's special choice for challenging roles.

Remembered best outside the South for her dance-filled role in "Jis Desh Mein Ganga Bahti Hai" with a rustic Raj Kapoor playing the dholak, she also figures in his farewell film "Mera Nam Joker".

Introduced to the Tamil audience as one of the trio of Travancore Sisters, Padmini outlasted the other two -- Lalitha and Ragini - cinematically.

The elder Lalitha became a screen villain and the younger Ragini a comedian of sorts before fading away. Padmini, however, went from height-to-height as a film heroine.

She outlasted them in life, too. Padmini may outlast many of her contemporaries in Tamil cinema as well in the memory of viewers - and not only of her generation - as the continuing popularity of "Thillana Mohanambal" on television testifies.