Hindi film actress, Rati Agnihotri was a rage in the 80s, as she proved her versatility as an actress multiple times. Rati was just 16 when she was spotted by a Tamil film director, who offered her the film, Puthiya Vaarpugal. Before making her Hindi film debut in 1981, she was seen in a couple of Tamil, Kannada and Telugu films.
Born into a conservative Punjabi family, Rati never dreamt of making it on the big screen; however, destiny had other plans. In 1981, Rati made her Hindi film debut in Ek Duuje Ke Liye, opposite Tamil superstar, Kamal Haasan. The film, which later became a cult classic, changed Rati’s career graph and made her one of the most sought-after actresses.
The film is still considered as one of the best romantic tragedies, and the audience hailed the on-screen chemistry between the lead pair, Rati and Kamal. However, off-screen, the two couldn’t stand each other. Rati used to hate Kamal, but he was also not fond of her. Today let us read about Rati and Kamal’s ugly fight and the controversial interview, that made things worse.
Rati Agnihotri and Kamal Haasan’s tiff began during the making of Ek Duuje Ke Liye. It was a difficult task for the director, K Balachander, to shoot their romantic scenes as the two had hated each other since the beginning. Since Kamal had already done the Tamil version of the film, he would give his input, which Rati never liked.
Even though it was Rati’s first Hindi film, she would only take instructions from the director. When Kamal would try to instruct her, she would look in the opposite direction, which irked him. Recalling the star war on the set, a close source from the set once revealed:
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“It was all due to ego issues. You see, Kamal Haasan was already a veteran actor of many acclaimed performances when he made his Hindi debut. Rati was a raw newcomer. And she was expected to behave like a pupil at the ‘Kamal Haasan School’ of acting. Moreover, Kamal was very close to Balachander. He had already done the Tamil version of Ek Duuje Ke Liye with the director. So perhaps rightfully, Kamal came to the locations of the Hindi remake with a know-all attitude."
Since Kamal was an established star in the South Indian film industry, there was a Bollywood lobby against the actor. In 1985, Kamal and Rati shot together for another film, Dekha Pyar Tumhare and during the course of the film, there were rumours about Kamal’s alleged affair with actress Sarika. Kamal was already married when rumours of him and Sarika made rounds in the media.
Soon, Sarika was pregnant, and Kamal faced a lot of moral policing. A veteran journalist, T Bharathwaj, who often wrote about Kamal in his magazine, interviewed his then-wife, Vani Ganapathy, and she expressed her anger against her husband. At that time, Kamal faced a lot of crusading from the Bollywood brigade, and many journalists would often write about the actor’s philandering ways with women.
During one such interview, Rati Agnihotri made a sly remark about Kamal. The actress stated that during the making of Ek Duuje Ke Liye, she heard sex noises from Kamal’s room and also saw a woman get out of his room at 4 am. There were only three women in the film: Rati, Shubha Khote and Madhavi. Since Shubha Khote was already married and had kids and Rati already hated Kamal, all fingers pointed towards Madhavi.
After Rati’s interview was published, Kamal’s character was badly bashed by the media, who gave the tag of a womaniser. He got furious with rage and gave a befitting reply to Rati. In an interview with Cine Blitz, Kamal rubbished Rati’s claims and called her a liar. Reacting to her accusations, Kamal said:
“If Rati said she heard noises, she must have been in my bedroom because the only woman I had sex with in those days was my wife Vani.”
Soon, a picture of Kamal along with Sarika and baby Shruti Haasan emerged in the media, and he was portrayed as a loving father. Kamal left Bollywood, and the criticisms were later turned into praise.
While Rati and Kamal could see eye to eye, his daughter, Akshara Haasan, was in a serious relationship with Rati’s son, Tanuj Virwani. The duo dated for four years but eventually broke up after private photos of Akshara were leaked online. In an interview with Siddharth Kannan, Tanuj talked about his breakup and said:
“Sometimes when you lose respect for your partner, and you don’t take a stand for them when you have to, then I may forgive but not forget. In that case, I don’t have to be friends. We are happy in our respective space.”
The actor then referred to the leaked photos scandal and said that Akshara didn’t support him during the matter. Tanuj said that if you believe he had a part in the scandal, that’s fine, but if you don’t, then you are supposed to take a stand. He said:
“It has nothing to do with our breakup. But everything that happened about the leaked pictures, either you believe I have done it, or you believe I haven’t and, in that case, you need to take a stand for me. But, she didn’t. I believe everybody has their own reasons and now it doesn’t really matter.”
Did you know about Rati Agnihotri and Kamal Haasan’s controversial fight? Let us know.
Also Read: Samantha Once Asked Chaitanya About His Reservation On Social Media, He Had A Complaint Against Her
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