Biography:

Rati Agnihotri (born 10 December 1960) is a veteran Indian actress. Her portfolio mainly includes films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

Agnihotri had her first modelling stint at age 10. When she was a teenager, her father relocated the family to Madras, Tamil Nadu because of his job. There, she attended Good Shepherd's Convent School and acted in a school play. Bharathiraja, one of Tamil film's prominent directors, was in the audience and was searching for a heroine to star in his new film. He met with Rati's father and promised the film would wrap in a month. Her father reluctantly agreed, and a sixteen-year-old Rati was very excited to star in her first film, Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979).

It was also her hero Bhagyaraj's first film, and he coached her with her lines by teaching her Tamil. The film became a blockbuster, with Rati an overnight sensation. Bharathiraja soon directed her in her second film, Niram Maaratha Pookkal (1979). Even though she was Punjabi, South Indian audiences embraced her as one of their own. She reciprocated by calling herself "Tamilian at heart" and calling Madras her home. She also starred in Telugu films and made 32 films in just three years.

She worked with big banners and top stars, such to South Indian cinema. She had worked with director K. Balachander once before and had been Kamal Hassan's leading lady in many South Indian films, so she wasn't surprised when they approached her for the Hindi remake of their Telugu blockbuster Maro Charithra (1979). Now re-titled Ek Duje Ke Liye (1981), the film was about passionate lovers who are torn apart by their parents in the storytelling tradition of Romeo and Juliet. It became one of the top grossing hits of 1981 and marked the debut into Hindi films of five stars of the South Indian film industry: director K. Balachander, hero Kamal Hassan, heroine Rati Agnihotri,singer S. P. Balasubrahmanyam and Madhavi_(actress). She then starred in over 43 Hindi films. Her biggest hits were Farz Aur Kanoon (1982), Coolie (1983) opposite megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Tawaif (1985) for which she received her second Filmfare nomination as Best Actress, and Hukumat (1987) opposite the Bollywood icon Dharmendra.

Rati's marriage to businessman and architect Anil Virwani on 9 February 1985, coupled with her father's death, convinced Rati to leave Hindi films when she was at the top. In 1987, she gave birth to her only child, Tanuj Virwani, and she concentrated on raising him and focusing on other creative interests like architectural creations for her husband.

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