‘Mehmood Made My Career & Was Also Responsible for My Downfall’: Aruna Irani

Aruna Irani revealed that she didn't get films for over two years till Raj Kapoor offered 'Bobby'.

Aruna Irani talks about working with Mehmood and their rumoured marriage.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter)

Aruna Irani made her debut with the 1961 film Ganga Jamna and went to act in almost 500 films. She and Mehmood worked together in several films including Naya Zamana and Humjoli, and they were a hit pair on screen. In a recent interview, Aruna revealed that she didn’t get any roles for two years despite the fact that her two films Caravan and Bombay To Goa were both hits.

Picture of Amitabh Bachchan, Mehmood, and Aruna Irani from Bombay To Goa days.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/ @SrBachchan)

Aruna Irani told Times of India, “Post the success of ‘Caravan’, I didn’t get any roles for two years. I remember ‘Caravan’ and ‘Bombay To Goa’ both released at the same time and they were both screened at two opposite theatres and both were jubilee hits. But somehow people misunderstood that I got married to Mehmood and at that time, I didn’t even try to clear things in public.”

She added, “Thankfully, after two years, I got a call from Raj Kapoor and he offered me ‘Bobby’. I accepted that offer and fortunately ‘Bobby’ became a blockbuster. And only because 'Bobby' did extremely well, my career came back on track once again and there was no looking back thereafter.”

Talking about her equation with Mehmood, Aruna added that people didn’t approach her with film offers because of her rumoured marriage to Mehmood, “It’s like Mehmood made my career and he was also responsible for my downfall.”

“But after all, everything got fine and I was back on track. Working with him was always nice, what an actor he was! He taught me a lot about acting, comedy punches, and timings. Working with him was always a great help,” Aruna said.

Aruna Irani also opened up about her first husband Kuku Kohli, “He (Kuku) didn't tell me that he was married when we met and that's how I fell in love with him. So it didn't look good to speak about our relationship as he was married already with a wife and daughters. Now I am talking about it because his first wife passed away a few months back.”