Known for her portrayal of negative characters in the initial stages of her career, Aruna Irani has acted in over 500 films. The actress, who has been a part of Hindi cinema for more than six decades, has created a stature for herself along with many leading ladies of the film industry. Born to an Iranian father and a Hindu mother, Aruna wanted to be a doctor but due to financial constraints, she gave up her studies in class sixth.
Aruna started her acting career as a child artist, and it was with the 1971 film, Caravan that she gained recognition. After her stint in films like Farz, Bobby, Sargam, Love Story, Rocky and a few others, Aruna switched to play motherly roles. The 1992 film, Beta is still considered Aruna’s best performance so far. In the later stages of her career, the beautiful actress switched to television and has also directed many serials.
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Aruna Irani had a tremendous professional life, but her personal life had never been a bed of roses as she faced a lot of heartbreaks. Let us read why the actress got married to an already-married man and decided never to have children.
Aruna Irani and Vinod Khanna’s brother, Pramod Khanna, were childhood friends, and it was her first fling. In a throwback interview with Cineplot, Aruna talked about her relationship with Pramod and said:
“He was very good looking, fair, with brown eyes. We were studying together, and he would walk me home from school. Even on picnics, he’d spend for me. He would bring food from his house, put it on my lap, and we would eat together. Then he left Bombay, and we lost contact."
Years later, Aruna became an actress, and Pramod made a film with his brother, Vinod, for which she was cast in a dance sequence. During the narration, Pramod kept looking at Aruna, and she felt awkward. Suddenly, he burst out laughing and told her who he was.
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When Aruna Irani entered the film industry, she didn’t get much work, and it was Mehmood, who signed up. He also started referring her name to many other filmmakers and an indebted Aruna couldn’t help but fall in love with him. In an ANI podcast with Smita Prakash, Aruna revealed that she couldn’t help falling in love with Mehmood despite the fact that he was already married.
In the podcast, she revealed that since they could not get married, they couldn’t go much ahead in their relationship. In her words:
“Kya bolu…he was such a big helper. Aaj meri duniya jo badal gayi thi, mujhe kaam milne lag gaya tha, mera ghar sambhal gaya tha unki wajah se toh mujhe lagta tha ki khuda ka bhej hua aadmi hai. Toh ek emotions…hote hote…kab liking badh gayi. I know he was a married man, we couldn’t get married. That’s why hum bhaut aage nahi jaa sakte the, lekin we were more than friends…so, he made my career, even I used to like him.”
In the podcast with Smita Prakash, Aruna revealed that Mehmood, who made her career, also ruined it. Since he was a big star when the news of his marriage to Aruna surfaced in the media, journalists questioned him, and he never answered. As a result, people assumed that the rumour was true, and Aruna stopped getting work.
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Aruna Irani got married to Kuku Kohli in 1990, while he was already a married man. She never talked about being married to Kuku as she didn’t want to hurt anyone. Aruna met Kuku Kohli at the age of 40 and the two were attracted towards each other. Speaking to ANI, Aruna revealed that nobody knew that she was married to Kuku Kohli, and she, too, never used to talk about it. She also revealed that Kuku’s wife had some health issues when he married Aruna.
Going further in the interview, Aruna revealed that she never wanted to be the other woman or a homebreaker. Revealing how a man is equally responsible for an extramarital affair, Aruna said:
“Ye jo wives hoti hain, voh hamesha dusri aurat ko gaali deti hain. See, I am not responsible to keep you happy, your husband is responsible, hold him first. Tell him ‘why did you do this?’ Maine koi ghar todne ke liye nahi affair kiya. But something happens, I don’t know what, only a man would know or a woman would know as to why a third person enters.”
After Aruna’s secret wedding with Kuku Kohli, she decided not to have children. The actress, who already bared the brunt of being a homebreaker, didn’t want her child to suffer the same ordeal. Speaking about the same, she said:
“I got married to...married man, I'm suffering...let the pain be with me only. But if my child asks, 'Where's papa?' what do I say? If something happens to...child in...middle of...night, I can't call him...that's why I never wanted...child.”
Be it her one-sided love for Mehmood, living with the tag of the ‘other woman’ or her decision to not have children, Aruna Irani has carried a lot of emotional baggage in her life. But despite all this, her zest towards life is strong.
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