 Rathnam has two sons, director and actor Jyothi Krishna and actor Ravi Krishna.Jyothi Krishna's directorial debut "Enakku 20 Unakku 18" and its Telugu version, as well as Ravi Krishna's first four films, that also include Jyothi Krishna's second directorial venture "Kedi", were all produced by Rathnam himself.In 2012, he built a temple for Shirdi Sai Baba at his office in Valasaravakkam.