Aruna Irani PROFILE
Aroona Irani is an Indian actress of mixed Irani Zoroastrian and Hindu background. An accomplished actress and a dancer of her times, Aroona Irani has acted in about 300 movies, with many memorable acting performances to her credit. Irani is the sister of film-maker Indra Kumar and she is married to film director Kuku Kohli. Born in the year 1952, Irani made her debut in the movie 'Gunga Jumna' (1961) when she was barely nine years old, playing Vyjayantimala's character as a child. After doing several small roles in films like 'Jahanara' (1964), 'Farz' (1967), 'Upkar' (1967) and 'Aaya Sawan Jhoomke' (1969), and pairing with comedian Mehmood in films like 'Aulad' (1968), 'Humjoli' (1970), and 'Naya Zamana' (1971), she finally shot to fame with her brilliant performance as an aggressive gypsy woman in the super hit 'Caravan' (1971). By that time, however, she was emotionally involved with Mehmood and did not focus entirely on her career. Their relationship also ruined the chances of her getting the heroine's roles. Yet, Mehmood gave her lead roles opposite the likes of Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Mehra in the films that he made like 'Bombay To Goa' (1972), 'Garam Masala' (1972), and 'Do Phool' (1973). Her success as a heroine still eluded her, and ironically, the newer actors and actresses that she supported became stars while acting with her like Jeetendra in 'Farz' (1967), Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia in 'Bobby' (1973), Jayaprada in 'Sargam' (1979), Kumar Gaurav in 'Love Story' (1981), Sanjay Dutt in 'Rocky' (1981). She then ended up being a vamp and excelled in it and eventually she started doing supporting roles. Aroona Irani took each role seriously and delivered great performances, thus endearing herself to filmmakers and creating a niche for herself. No other actress of her time could have done justice to her role of a seductress out to rob the teenage hero Rishi Kapoor off his innocence in 'Bobby' (1973). Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s she appeared in several supporting roles, notably 'Roti Kapada Aur Makaan' (1974), 'Do Jhooth' (1975), 'Khel Khel Mein' (1975), 'Bhanwar' (1976), 'Fakira' (1976), 'Laila Majnu' (1976), 'Sargam' (1979), 'Qurbani' (1980), 'Aas Paas' (1980), 'Love Story' (1981) and 'Kudrat' (1981). She finally won her first Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for 'Pet Pyaar Aur Paap' (1984). In the late 1980s and 1990s she switched to playing motherly roles, notably in 'Beta' (1992) for which she won her second Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and 'Raja Babu'. She also made it big by acting in many Gujarati films and some way set a trend by playing the main protagonist in them.