With the success of "Padayappa", Ramya Krishnan, who up to that point in time had only performed glamorous roles, showed her versatility as an actress. The character Neelambari reappears in "Baba" (2002), where she spots Baba (Rajinikanth) but sees him in her mind's eye in his Padayappa attire; she asks him the time. Her brother drags her away, and berates her for still not overcoming Padayappa. Ramya Krishnan and Nasser reprised their roles in this film. The success of "Padayappa" led to a film being named after one of its songs, "Minsara Kanna" (1999), where actress Kushboo appears in a negative role similar to Ramya Krishnan's in "Padayappa"; another song from the film, "Vetri Kodi Kattu", became the name of a 2000 film directed by Cheran. Ramya Krishnan played the role of Malini in the film "Arumugam" (2009), in which her character was similar to Neelambari. Ramya Krishnan's character in the television serial, "Kalasam", was also named Neelambari. Actress Priyamani, in an interview with Prathibha Joy of "The Times of India", stated her character in the Kannada film "Ambareesha" (2014), is similar to Neelambari. In Chetan Bhagat's novel, "" (2009), when Krish Malhotra, the novel's protagonist, travels to Nungambakkam by auto rickshaw, the auto rickshaw driver stops to worship a poster of "Padayappa".