Rati Agnihotri was born in Bareilly Uttar Pradesh in a Punjabi family. She had her first modelling stint at age 10. When she was a teenager, her father relocated the family to Madras, Tamil Nadu because of his job. There, she attended Good Shepherd's Convent School and acted in a school play.Bharathiraja, one of Tamil cinema's prominent directors, was in the audience and was searching for a heroine to star in his new film. He met with Rati's father and promised the film would wrap in a month. Her father reluctantly agreed, and a sixteen-year-old Rati was very excited to star in her first film, Puthiya Vaarpugal (1979).It was also her hero Bhagyaraj's first film, and he coached her with her lines by teaching her Tamil. The film became a blockbuster, with Rati an overnight sensation. Bharathiraj soon directed her in her second film, Niram Maaratha Pookkal (1979).Even though she was Punjabi, South Indian audiences embraced her as one of their own. She reciprocated by calling herself "Tamilian at heart" and calling Madras her home.She also starred in Telugu and Kannada films and made 32 films in just three years. She is popular in Karnataka due to her hot rain songs with Vishnuvardhan that are frequently shown in the Midnight Masala TV program.She worked with big banners and top stars in South Indian cinema.