She is survived by her husband, two sons and a daughter.
Padma, who was admitted to a private hospital here last Tuesday with lung infection, developed multiple problems, family sources said.
"Osey Ramulamma" and "Megha Sandesam" are some of the major films that Padma had produced. She had a love marriage with Rao and helped him when he was struggling as producer-director in filmdom.
She also served as president of women’s wing of the Congress party in Tamil Nadu.
As the news of Padma’s death spread, several Telugu film personalities rushed to her house to console Rao.
Tamil Nadu governor K. Rosaiah, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana and film personalities D. Ramanaidu, Murali Mohan, Mohan Babu and Raghavendra Rao were among those who condoled Padma’s death.