Rati Agnihotri (born 10 December 1960) is an Indian actress, known for acting in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, as well as in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

language films. Her roles in the cult-tragedy film ''

Ek Duuje Ke Liye ''Ek Duuje Ke Liye'' () is a 1981 Indian Hindi romantic tragedy film directed by K. Balachander. A remake of Balachander's Telugu film ''Maro Charitra'', it stars Kamal Haasan and Rati Agnihotri as a pair of lovers from different families who ...

'' (1981) and the

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

Tawaif A ''tawaif'' was a highly successful entertainer who catered to the nobility of the Indian subcontinent, particularly during the Mughal era. The tawaifs excelled in and contributed to music, dance ( mujra), theatre, and the Urdu literary tradi ...

'' (1985) earned her two nominations for the

Filmfare Award for Best Actress The Filmfare Award for Best Actress is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise the female actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954 ...

Early life

Agnihotri was born on 10 December 1960 in

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The c ...

, Uttar Pradesh, in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

family.

Film career

She began modelling at the age of ten. Agnihotri's first film roles were in the Tamil language films ''

Puthiya Vaarpugal ''Puthiya Vaarpugal'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film co-written, produced and directed by Bharathiraja. The film stars K. Bhagyaraj and Rati Agnihotri, with G. Srinivasan, Goundamani, K. K. Soundar and Usharani in suppo ...

'' and ''

Niram Maaratha Pookkal ''Niram Maratha Pookal'' () is a 1979 Indian Tamil-language film directed and co-written by Bharathiraja. It stars Sudhakar, Raadhika, Vijayan and Rati. The film was released on 31 August 1979. Plot Sudhakar is a poor man desperately looki ...

'' (1979). In the 1980s, she also starred in a number of Hindi films. She received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actress for the 1981 film ''

'', which was a

remake of the Telugu film ''

Maro Charitra ''Maro Charitra'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language romantic tragedy film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan and Saritha in the lead with Madhavi appearing in prominent roles. The film deals with cross-cultura ...

'' from 1979. Other Hindi films from this period included '' Farz Aur Kanoon'' (1982), ''

Coolie A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...

'' (1983), ''

'' (1985) which also led to her being nominated for the Filmfare award, Aap Ke Saath (1986)'', and

Hukumat ''Hukumat'' () is a 1987 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Anil Sharma (director), Anil Sharma, starring Dharmendra and Rati Agnihotri, while Swapna (actress), Swapna and Sadashiv Amrapurkar play supporting roles. The movie became ...

'' (1987). After a 16-year absence, she returned to acting in 2001, in the Hindi film ''

Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi ''Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi'' () is a 2001 Indian film directed by Rahul Rawail and starring Kajol in a double role as two estranged identical twins. The storyline follows the general theme of its 1961 Hollywood counterpart '' The Parent Trap'', ...

'' and the

film ''

Majunu ''Majunu'' is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romantic thriller film directed by Ravichandran and produced by Sunanda Murali Manohar. The film stars Prashanth and Rinke Khanna with Sonu Sood, Raghuvaran, Rati Agnihotri and Vivek appearing in othe ...

''. She made her

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

debut in '' Anyar'' (2003),

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

debut in ''An Ode to Lost Love'' (2003), and

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

debut in ''Aaina-te'' (2008). She has also acted on the stage, in plays such as ''Please Divorce Me Darling'' (2005), and television serials, such as ''Sixer'' (2005). Agnihotri spends a lot of time in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, where she owns an Indian restaurant with her sister Anita.

Personal life

Agnihotri married businessman and architect Anil Virwani on 9 February 1985, This, coupled with her father's death, convinced her to leave

films. In 1986, the couple's son,

Tanuj Virwani Tanuj Virwani is an Indian actor and model active in the Bollywood industry. He is best known for his role of Vayu Raghavan in the 2017 Amazon Original television series ''Inside Edge''. He has also played integral roles in Alt Balaji's ''Cod ...

, was born. He is an actor working in Hindi films and television. Agnihotri and Virwani divorced in 2015.

Awards and nominations

Nominations

– ''

'' (1982) *Filmfare Award for Best Actress – ''

'' (1985)

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Rati Agnihotri's Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agnihotri, Rati Living people 1960 births People from Bareilly Actresses from Mumbai Punjabi people Indian film actresses Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses in Tamil cinema Actresses in Telugu cinema Actresses in Kannada cinema Actresses in Malayalam cinema Actresses in Bengali cinema Indian television actresses Actresses in Hindi television 20th-century Indian actresses 21st-century Indian actresses