Rathi is an Indian former actress, who appeared mostly in Tamil cinema and Telugu cinema.

As a Tamilian girl, Rathi was born in Bangalore, Karnataka to Tamil people Arumugam and Bharani. She has two siblings, one elder sister and one younger brother. She was a student of dentistry at the Mathrushri Ramabai Ambedkar Dental College and Hospital in Bangalore.^[2] She is a trained classical dancer and had her Arangetram.

She made her acting debut in the 2002 Tamil film Gummalam. She starred opposite Cheran in Thangar Bachan's Solla Marandha Kadhai. She appeared in a couple more Tamil films, including Adi Thadi starring Sathyaraj, but none of them were commercially successful. She had also performed an item number in the Tamil film Anjaneya featuring Ajith Kumar in the lead role.^[3] She then migrated to Telugu cinema and acted in six films.

Between her careers in both film and television, she also managed to complete a bachelor's degree in genetics.^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Rathi created a sensation when she appeared on stage as a special guest in the 'Euphoria 03' event at the PSG College of Arts and Science.^[4]