Rohini Hattangadi

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ilm acting from National School of Drama in the year 1971 and ironically was not much into film acting early on. She enrolled with flying colours from the institute with the Best Actress and Best all round student Awards. It is during the Institute days that she met her future husband Jayadev Hattangadi who was her batch mate studying direction and the couple got married in the year 1975. She then along with her husband started a theatre group called “Awishkar” which went on to churn out nearly hundred and fifty plays . She made her acting debut in Marathi Stage during the same time. She then went on to make intense classic plays like the “Changuna” which was the Marathi adaptation of Spanish classic “Yerma” in 1975 for which she won her Best Actress Award at the Maharashtra State Drama Festival, followed by the record making female debut in the Kannada Folk play titled “Bhishma Vijay” which was first of its kind for any female actor along with going on to be the first Asian women act in a Japanese Kabuki play “Ibaragi” and also for her breath-taking solo performance in the play “Aparajita” which is considered her career best performance till date in theatre and an important phase in Indian theatre history. She then after being part of many more plays went on to make her film debut in the year 1978.

Film debut and rise to prominence ( 1978-1986) Rohini made her film debut through Saeed Akhtar Mirza’s cult drama Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan , which saw her pairing with Dilip Dhawan, Anjali Paingankar and Shreeram Lagoo in other pivotal roles. She rose to popularity among the cinema audiences with the movie and then went on to be a part of other major productions like Naseeruddin Shah’s Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Ata Hai and Dharma in the years 1980 and 1981 respectively. Rohini Hattangadi however had her first major career turnaround in the year 1982, when she was chosen to play “Kasturba Gandhi” in Richard Attenborough’s epic biographical drama Gandhi based on Mahatma Gandhi’s life. She was seen pairing with Ben Kingsley who reprised Gandhi’s role in the movie and her concise portrayal of the emotional nuances of constantly subdued real life instances of the original character garnered her much acclaim .The cult classic movie had Rohini coming up with a decisive performance which earned her a Best Supporting Actress Award at BAFTA Awards which was a first of a kind feat for a Asian actress. Rohini Hattangadi then had a dream run in the ensuing years with her being called upon to portray matured parts in critically hit and off beat ventures which had big names attached to them. Mahesh Bhatt’s Infidelity based drama film Arth, which had her pairing with actors like Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and more in the lead. She was seen playing a cheated maid in the film and the role was a beginning of an array of films which had her playing older characters than her real life age which sprouted after her towering role in Gandhi. She fetched a Supporting Actress Award at Filmfare Awards for her tremendous depiction of the character. She was then seen playing the frustrated and cynical wife of a successful playwright who finds it hard to cope with her husband’s excessive disconnect with herself amongst an urban high society party held to commemorate his achievements in Govind Nihalani’s social drama Party which had an ensemble star cast consisting of Manohar Singh, Vijay Mehta, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri among others in the lead. Rohini Hattangadi pulled of a blinder by getting deep under the skin of the emotionally perplexed character who tries to get over her husband’s total lack of interest in her but who later comes across compelling situations in the latter half. Rohini won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for the year. Rohini next two releases were Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho and Mahesh Bhatt’s emotional drama Saaransh opposite Anupam Kher in his film debut; they were seen playing an old couple who finds it hard to adjust with their son’s death. The Oscar nominated movie was yet another huge leap for her as she was seen showcasing impeccable maturity in handling older serious roles ironically just at her late twenties. Ensuing releases in various languages ( 1987-2000) After the feministic drama Pratighaat in 1987 she went on to make her entry to Malayalam cinema with the blockbuster hit family drama Achuvettante Veedu playing a widowed mother who is left to fend for her children among social imbalances. Rohini then went on to be part of major productions like Shahenshah, Akarshan, Chaal Baaz and Siva. She however returned to limelight with her portrayal of Amitabh Bachchan’s mother in the cult revenge drama Agneepath in 1990 and was a major career break for her yet gain. She received positive responses for her role as Sanjay Dutt’s mother in the film Munna bhai MBBS in 2003 and later went on to reprise her role in the Tamil version of the film Vasool Raja MBBS in 2004. Rohini Hattangadi has played roles in many of the Marathi films as well. Other releases ( 1990-2015) Ghatak Little Soldiers Tunna Ki Tina Pukar Lajja Badhaai Ho Badhaai Munna bhai MBBS Vasool Raja M.B.B.S Karzzzz David ( Hindi) Ramayya Vasthavayya Veeram Mango Dreams