✦ Celebrity stories, facts and career updates. Explore F4U now →

Home › Biography › Rohini Hattangadi

Rohini Hattangadi biographyFeatured Biography

Image source: StarsUnfolded

Celebrities

Rohini Hattangadi Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 1, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth11 April 1955

Age70 Years

BirthplacePune, Maharashtra

ProfessionActress

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseJayadev Hattangadi (deceased)

FamilySon - Aseem Hattangadi (actor)

Rohini Hattangadi Biography

Rohini Hattangadi is an acclaimed Indian actress whose work spans theatre, film and television across multiple Indian languages and in English. Trained at

Early life and background

Rohini Hattangadi was born Rohini Oak on 11 April 1955 in Pune, Maharashtra. Raised in a Marathi family, she trained in Indian classical dance from an early age, studying Kathakali and Bharatnatyam for more than eight years under Professor Surendra Wadgaonkar. While at college she was active in sports and the National Cadet Corps, and she moved to New Delhi in 1971 to pursue theatre studies at the National School of Drama. Under the mentorship of Ebrahim Alkazi she completed her training in 1974, earning recognition as Best Actress and Best All-Round Student at the end of the course.

Career

Rohini’s first work was on the stage. After graduating she and her husband, Jayadev Hattangadi, started the Marathi theatre group Awishkar in Mumbai. The company produced more than 150 plays and became the vehicle for many of her most admired stage performances. She won the Best Actress award at the Maharashtra State Drama Festival in Mumbai for her role in Changuna, a Marathi adaptation of Federico García Lorca’s Yerma. Other notable theatre productions she acted in include Aparajita, Medea, Mitra Chi Gosht, Hori and Kohra.

Her film debut in Hindi came with Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978). International attention arrived with Gandhi (1982), in which she portrayed Kasturba Gandhi. Though in her twenties at the time, her performance as a middle-aged Kasturba earned widespread praise and led to more character roles, particularly as motherly figures. That role brought her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and marked her as the only Indian actress to hold that title for decades.

Through the 1980s and beyond she built a long and varied filmography across languages. In Hindi she appeared in Arth (1982), Saaransh (1984), Party (1984), Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984), Aghaat (1985), Anjuman (1986), Pratighaat (1987), Agneepath (1990), Damini (1993) and later films including Karzzzz (2008) and David (2013). She received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Arth and another Filmfare supporting award for Agneepath, along with a National Film Award for Party. Her Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Gujarati credits include Achuvettante Veedu (1987), Seetharamayya Gari Manavaralu (1991), Vasool Raja MBBS (2004), Surya (1986) and Oxygen (2018), among others. In Tamil she also acted in Veeram (2014) and Kolaiyuthir Kaalam (2019). In Marathi cinema she took on a challenging dual role in Once More (2019), using prosthetics to portray both male and female characters.

Her television work has been extensive, with roles in Hindi serials such as Thode Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai (1997–1999), Mahayagya, Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann (2006–2009), Maayke Se Bandhi Dor (2011), Chhal — Sheh Aur Maat (2012) and Yeh Kahaan Aa Gaye Hum. In Marathi television she is well known for Char Divas Sasuche (2001–2013), where she played Ashalata Deshmukh, a character she has described as a favourite because of its balance of professional dedication and homemaking responsibilities. She has also worked on web projects, including the Gujarati series Kshadyantra (2021).

Public profile

Rohini’s stage background and classical dance training informed a career often centered on powerful, mature characters. Her portrayal of Parvati Pradhan in Saaransh (1984), opposite Anupam Kher, was widely lauded and earned her a Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Critics and publications have highlighted both Saaransh and her work in Gandhi as defining performances in her career. She has been honored with major recognitions, including the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for contribution to theatre in 2004 and the Kala Gaurav Award in 2019.

Throughout her career she has reflected on the differences between theatre and film, noting that theatre’s immediate audience feedback sustains her creatively even as film work provided greater financial stability. She has also spoken about the practical challenges of television work, including maintaining continuity across episodes.

Personal life

Rohini married fellow National School of Drama alumnus Jayadev Hattangadi in 1977; the couple founded Awishkar together. Jayadev, who trained in direction and received recognition as a director, died in December 2008. The couple had a son, Aseem Hattangadi, who has pursued acting.

Latest updates

Rohini continues to work across stage, screen and television, with credits spanning regional cinema and national television into recent years. Her long career has been marked by awards on stage and screen and by a reputation for strong character performances that cross linguistic and medium boundaries.
◈

Recent Work

Kshadyantra

Web series (Gujarati) aired on SheemaroMe (2021)

2021
Oxygen

Gujarati film (2018)

2018
Once More

Marathi film (2019) – played a dual role

2019
✦

Career Highlights

  1. BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Gandhi (1982)
  2. Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Awards (Arth 1982, Agneepath 1990)
  3. National Film Award for Party (1984)
  4. Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for contribution to theatre (2004)
  5. Best Actress Award at Maharashtra State Drama Festival for Changuna
?

Frequently Asked Questions

When was Rohini Hattangadi born?

11 April 1955

What is Rohini Hattangadi known for?

Actress

What is Rohini Hattangadi’s marital status?

Married

Who is Rohini Hattangadi married to?

Jayadev Hattangadi (deceased)