Rati Agnihotri on her record-breaking debut Ek Duuje Ke Liye: 'Had no idea what the film was about'

K Balachander’s _Ek Duuje Ke Liye_ came and conquered the box-office in 1981. It gave us two stars: Kamal Haasan already a name to reckon with in the South, and Rati Agnihotri, who turns 62 today, raw and new she had never imagined a career in films. Recalls Rati, “My Dad was approached and we immediately agreed because the film was produced by the great L V Prasadji and directed by the stalwart K Balachanderji.” Ek Duuje Ke Liye was a remake of Balachander’s Tamil smash hit film Maro Charitra. Rati’s father Roop Agnihotri saw the original before saying yes to the remake. But Rati was not allowed to see Maro Charitra. Explains Rati, “Balchanderji didn’t want me to get influenced by the earlier film. So I had no idea what the film was all about. All I knew was I had a great producer, director and co-star Kamal Haasan.” Rati remembers feeling quite isolated on the sets. “I was really scared of Balachanderji. I wondered if he was angry with me. He had these really huge eyes which would look straight at you. But he never ever shouted at me.” At 16, Rati had to project complex emotions of love, longing and parting. “I was so young and so raw. I knew none of the emotions that I had to express. Balachander ji would come up to me , whisper comforting things in my ears, and I would do the scene. I’d just follow what he said. I was like a sponge, absorbing all that I was given.” The fact that Rati didn’t know a word of Tamil was not conducive to good work. “Balachanderji would talk to me in Tamil, then English. Prasad ji, Balachander ji and Kamal ji would pull up a chair and explain the scenes to me. That’s how I managed. I couldn’t have done it without these three great artistes to guide me through Ek Duuje Ke Liye.” Rati also feels grateful for the great songs in Ek Duuje Ke Liye composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and sung by Lataji. “In songs like Solah baras ki baali umar, Tere mere beech mein, Hum tum donon jab mil jayenge and Hum baney tum baney ek duuje ke liye, Lataji expressed everything I was supposed to. I just had to lip-sync those emotions.” After Ek Duuje Ke Liye, Rati was flooded with offers. “I was working round-the-clock. My costars were Amitji (Bachchan), Rishi Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt in multiple films. I had a ball working with them. Talent is all very well. But what really matters is luck. I was lucky to have such big hits in my career.” Incidentally Ek Duuje Ke Liye was originally titled Ek Naya Itihaas. A sequel was planned. But it never happened. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.