K. Balachander discovered me for Hindi cinema: Rati Agnihotri

Mumbai, Dec 25: Late veteran auteur K. Balachander will always hold a special place in Rati Agnihotri's heart. The actress says she was lucky to have had him as the director of her first Hindi movie, "Ek Duuje Ke Liye", which released in 1981. For Rati, who is tending to her ailing mother, it's "very hard to believe" that Balachander is no more. He passed away at a Chennai hospital Tuesday. Talking about a recent chance to meet Balachander, Rati said: "Just some days ago when I was shooting in Punjab, I got a call from Chennai asking, 'Can you come down to Chennai for a get-together?' They wanted to honour K. Balachanderji and Bharathi Rajaji by inviting all the actors and technicians that they had worked with in 1970s and 1980s." "Coincidentally, I was launched in Tamil cinema by Bharathi Rajaji and in Hindi cinema by Balachanderji. I was very fortunate to have been launched by the best. I couldn't go for the commemorative event because I needed to be with my mom. Balachanderji meant so much to my career and to me as a person. He didn't only discover me for the Hindi cinema in 'Ek Duuje Ke Liye', he guided me through the film."