Rohini Hattangadi

Indian actress

Rohini Hattangadi (née Oak; born 11 April 1955) is an Indian actress, known for her work in Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and Gujarati films, and Marathi soap operas and theatre. She has won two Filmfare Awards, one National Film Award, and is the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi (1982). An alumna of the National School of Drama of New Delhi, Hattangadi had worked mainly in theatre when she made her movie debut with Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan in 1978. Some of her noted cinematic roles were in such art films as Arth (1982), Party and Saaransh (1984). Hattangadi was mostly offered character roles in mainstream Hindi cinema after her portrayal in Gandhi, often typecast in mother roles much ahead of her years. Respected for her acting prowess, she has appeared in over 80 feature films, and is active in theatre and television.

Hattangadi was born in Pune as Rohini Oak. She attended Renuka Swaroop Memorial Girls High School, Pune. She joined the National School of Drama (NSD) of New Delhi in 1971. Although the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) was located in her hometown Pune, she did not join it because she was mainly interested in theatre and did not have early plans to enter cinema: "I just wanted to be an actor My heart was in theatre because I learnt from my father (Anant Oak) that real acting is learnt through theatre. That's why I came all the way to Delhi to join NSD." Rohini also received training in Indian classical dance forms, Kathakali and Bharatnatyam for more than eight years, under the guidance of Professor Surendra Wadgaonkar. Rohini and Jayadev have a son, Aseem Hattangadi, who is a theatre actor and acted in Badal Sircar's play, Evam Indrajit, directed by his father. Jaydev Hattangadi died on 5 December 2008, aged 60, after a battle with cancer.

Rohini started her career with Marathi stage. Once in Mumbai while still at NSD, Jayadev and Rohini started a Marathi theatre group in Mumbai, called "Awishkar", which went on to produce over 150 plays. In 1975 she won the Best Actress Award at the Maharashtra State Drama Festival, for her performance in Changuna, a Marathi adaptation of Federico García Lorca's Spanish classic Yerma. The play was produced by "Awishkar" in Mumbai. Hattangadi is the first woman to act in Kannada play Yakshagana, a folk play directed by K. Shivaram Karanth, and is the first woman in Asia to act in a Japanese Kabuki play, Ibaragi, directed by Shozo Sato, a Japanese director. One play that Hattangadi was particularly appreciated for is Aparajita, based on a Bengali story by Nitin Sen. First staged in 1999, this 120 minute long solo act play has over the years been performed in both Hindi and Marathi. Incidentally, it was her first performance in a long time to be directed by her husband, Jayadev Hattangadi. In all she has performed in five plays directed by him, including Medea, a Greek tragedy written by Euripides. Her other theatre credits include Vijay Tendulkar's Mitra Chi Gosht, directed by Vinay Apte, Hori based on Premchand's Godaan, produced by IPTA, and most recently in the Hindi play Kohra with Sudha Chandran and Babul Bhavsar. Hattangadi, along with husband Jayadev, ran "Kalashray", a centre for research, education in arts and talent encouragement in Mumbai, working with the underprivileged and developing tools for powerful communication. Despite the success she received for her role in Gandhi, the film was also credited with increasing "her screen age manifold". She was 27 when she played the middle aged Kasturba, and from then on was offered roles of women of this age group. Hattangadi told of an instance when James Ivory wanted to cast for his film Heat and Dust, but he was surprised by how young she was when he met her and ultimately did not approach her for a part because he did not want to use make up. Although theatre was her main interest, she stated that it was not enough financially, stating, "I realised that theatre won't be enough to make ends meet." Her portrayal earned her a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress, but it further consolidated her image as a mother and by this time she was type cast in Hindi commercial cinema in motherly roles. Hattangadi played lead roles in the Marathi serials Char Divas Sasuche and Vahinisaheb on ETV Marathi and Zee Marathi, respectively. She has played a parallel lead role in Marathi serial Honar Soon Mi Hya Gharchi on Zee Marathi. She played the lead role in a series on politics in India, where she played the leader of a major political party. In Hindi, She played the role of an actress in Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann as Gayatri Baa. Over the years, she has been seen in a number of TV serials including Mahayagya, Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai, Teache, Maayke Se Bandhi Dor and more. She played a special appearance in Chhal — Sheh Aur Maat, which aired in the TV channel Colors TV. She played a mother in law in Tuza Maza Breakup. She is also seen as Kashibai in the Marathi serial Swamini produced by Viren Pradhan on Colors Marathi.

Year Title Role Language Notes 1978 Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan Shilpa Hindi 1980 Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai Vivek's wife 1981 Chakra Laxmi 1982 Gandhi Kasturba GandhiEnglish Won – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Arth Pooja's MaidHindi Won – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress 1984 Saaransh Parvati Pradhan Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best ActressBhavnaShobhaNominated – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress Party Mohini Barve Won – National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! Defense lawyer 1985 Aghaat Mrs. Ali 1986 Surya Kannada 1987 Achuvettante Veedu Rukmini Kunjamma Malayalam Pratighaat Durga Hindi Jalwa Sree Baby 1988 Shahenshah Shanti (Vijay's mother) Hero Hiralal Roopa's step mom Akarshan Didi 1989 Billoo Badshah Billu's mother Ladaai Mrs. Shanti Sharma ChaalBaaz Amba 1990 Agneepath Suhasini Chauhan Won – Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress Siva Prakash's Mother 1991 Ek Ghar Mane Kannada Sitaramayyagari Manavaralu Janakamma, wife of Sitarammayya Telugu 1992 Raatri Mother of Manisha Sharma Raat Hindi 1993 Damini Mrs. Sumitra Gupta 1994 Teerpu Parvathi Telugu Bhale Pellam 1995 Top Hero Amma Agnidevan Aniyankuttan's Grand mother Malayalam 1996 Little Soldiers Rajeswari Devi Telugu Ghatak Savitri Hindi 1997 Tunnu Ki Tina Tunnu's mother 2000 Pukar Mrs. Mallapa (Pooja's mother) 2001 Lajja Mrs. Hazarilal Avgat Ramya's mother 2002 Badhaai Ho Badhaai Rosy D'Souza 2003 Munna Bhai M. B. B. S. Parvati Sharma 2004 Vasool Raja M. B. B. S. Kasturi Venkataraman Tamil 2008 Karzzzz Shanta Prasad Verma Hindi 2009 Ganesh Just Ganesh Divya's aunt Telugu 2012 Shirdi Sai Ganga Bai 2013 Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu Bondam/Bamma Ramayya Vasthavayya Baby David Malati Tai Hindi/Tamil Premachi Goshta Ram's Mother Marathi 2014 Veeram Koppenrundevi Tamil 2015 Mango Dreams Padma English 2016 Brahmotsavam Mahalakshmi's stepmother Telugu 2018 Chal Mohan Ranga Oxygen Gujarati 2019 Chitralahari Judge Telugu Kolaiyuthir Kaalam Tamil 2019 Once More Marathi 2022 Jalsa Rukmimi Hindi 2023 Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan Gundamaneni Pushpanjali Hindi Baipan Bhaari Deva Jaya Marathi 2024Aata Vel ZaaliRanjana LeleMarathi The Family Star Govardhan's grandmother Telugu

Rohini Hattangadi has played a number of roles in Marathi and Hindi plays in her career. Some of the most popular plays are Aai Tula Mi Kuthe Theu and Charchaughi