Rohini Molleti, known professionally as Rohini, is an Indian actress, screenwriter, dubbing artist and lyricist. She has mainly acted in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu, films along with few Kannada films. Having started her acting career at five, she has about 300 south Indian films to her credit. She received National Film Award – Special Mention and Andhra Pradesh state Nandi Special Jury Award for Best Performance as Rangi in the 1995 film Stri.

Early life

A native of Anakapalli in Andhra Pradesh, Rohini spent all her childhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Her father, Appa Rao Naidu, was a panchyat officer and her mother, Radha, was a housewife. Her father always wanted to become an actor, though he could not be an actor owing to various reasons; he encouraged Rohini to become an actress. Her mother died when she was five years old, following which, her father remarried.

Personal life

She was married to actor Raghuvaran in 1996. The couple have a son Rishi Varan, born in 2000. The couple divorced in 2004.

Career

She started her career in 1974 as a child actress. She was first seen as a wide-eyed five-year old in ''Yashoda Krishna'', a Telugu film. She is also a popular dubbing artist in the Telugu and Tamil film industries. She has voiced six characters in five of Mani Ratnam's films. She lent her voice to actresses like Jyothika (''Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu''), Aishwarya Rai (''Iruvar'' and ''Raavanan''), Manisha Koirala (''Bombay'') and Amala (''Shiva''). She has also dubbed for Girija Shettar in ''Geethanjali''.She wrote lyrics for the Tamil film ''Pachaikili Muthucharam'', before ending another hiatus by writing all songs in the album, ''Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey''. She has also dubbed for Girija Shettar in ''Geethanjali''.She wrote lyrics for the Tamil film ''Pachaikili Muthucharam'', before ending another hiatus by writing all songs in the album, ''Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathilaey''. Her acting skills were recognized and she was given the Kalaimamani award recently.She writes episodes for Tamil TV serials. She started writing scripts for TV series way back in 1996, and has adapted the Sahithya Academy Award winning novel ''Verukku Neer'' for a tele film in 2005. She hosted the live TV talk show ''Kelvigal Aayiram'' for Vijay TV, which she said "dealt with issues close to my heart". She moderated the Tamil programme ''Azhagiya Tamizh Magal'' on Kalaignar TV and has worked as the anchor of Raj TV's show, ''Rohini's Box Office'' in which she reviewed the latest releases.Being an activist for AIDS awareness, Rohini has also directed short films for M.G.R. Medical University and Tamil Nadu Aids Control Society. In 2008, Rohini had directed a 50-minute documentary ''Silent Hues'' about film industry's Child actress, she being one herself. In 2013, she has directed a feature film ''Appavin Meesai'' which is yet to be released.