Rohini Hattangadi (née Oak; born 11 April 1951) is an Indian actress whose career spans theatre, film and television across several Indian languages. Trained at the National School of Drama in New Delhi, she is best known internationally for her portrayal of Kasturba Gandhi in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), for which she became the only Indian actress to win the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
| Born | 11 April 1951 |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Rohini Oak |
| Occupation | Actress (film, theatre, television) |
| Alma mater | National School of Drama, New Delhi |
| Film debut | Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978) |
| Languages worked in | Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Gujarati |
| Notable awards | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role; National Film Award; two Filmfare Awards |
| Feature films | Over 80 |
Hattangadi studied at the National School of Drama in New Delhi, an institution that has shaped many leading figures of modern Indian theatre and cinema. Before entering films, she worked principally in theatre, an experience that informed her approach to character roles in subsequent screen work.
She made her film debut in Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978). In the early 1980s she appeared in a series of films associated with India's parallel cinema movement, including Arth (1982), Party (1984) and Saaransh (1984).
Her portrayal of Kasturba Gandhi in Gandhi (1982) brought her wide international attention. The performance won her the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, making her the only Indian actress to have received the honour.
Following Gandhi, Hattangadi was largely cast in character parts in mainstream Hindi cinema, often in mother roles assigned to her well ahead of her actual age. Despite this typecasting, she came to be respected for her acting range and consistency.
She has worked in Marathi, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Gujarati films, accumulating a body of more than 80 feature films. Alongside cinema, she remains active in Marathi theatre and in television, including Marathi soap operas.
Hattangadi occupies a distinctive place in Indian acting both for her sustained engagement with theatre and parallel cinema and for her international recognition through Gandhi. Her career illustrates the bridging of stage training at the National School of Drama with mainstream and art-house Indian filmmaking across multiple language industries.
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