Aruna Irani recalls her relationship with veteran comedian Mehmood, says ‘made false promise of marriage and was openly exploiting me’

Aruna Irani recalls her relationship with veteran comedian Mehmood, says ‘made false promise of marriage and was openly exploiting me’

• Aruna Irani revealed her complex past relationship with actor-comedian Mehmood
• She said Mehmood's support helped her career but later led to personal struggles
• Rumors about marriage with Mehmood hurt her film offers and slowed her career

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Veteran Bollywood actress Aruna Irani has opened up about her past relationship with the late actor-comedian Mehmood, saying that while he gave her early opportunities in Hindi cinema, the association later affected her personally and professionally.

In a recent conversation with Zoom, Aruna Irani said the relationship began when Mehmood, who was already a well-known figure in the industry, cast her in films and helped her gain her initial footing.

Aruna Irani said that her mother had repeatedly asked her to end her relationship with Mehmood, but she kept reassuring her that she was committed to him.

She explained that Mehmood had given her significant support early in her career, and because of his help and favours, she eventually began dating him.

Aruna Irani admitted that she felt burdened by the weight of his support, which made the relationship complicated to navigate.

Aruna Irani stated, “Mehmood ji was already married twice. I was called a homebreaker. My mother would often tell me not to continue the relationship since it was wrong. After I became famous, Mehmood started avoiding me. I wouldn’t blame him entirely since he supported me a lot during my struggling days.”

Aruna Irani, who has appeared in over five decades of films ranging from Beta to Bombay to Goa, described how the dynamics of their relationship shifted as their professional paths diverged.

She said that after working together on several projects, she began to feel that Mehmood was ‘openly exploiting’ her and that the connection became difficult for her to navigate.

“After seeing Mehmood’s behaviour, I realised that he is openly exploiting me. It eventually became very complicated for me,” she said.

The actress also addressed the long–running gossip about their personal relationship and rumours of marriage.

Aruna Irani said that Mehmood had at times suggested that he would marry her, but he never did so, and in hindsight, she is happy that he did not.

“He would have gotten married to her for the third time. It was allowed in his religion. But fortunately, it didn’t happen. It was wrong.”

According to the actress, the rumours about marriage hurt her career at the time. She said that filmmakers became hesitant to cast her in new projects amid speculation that she might become pregnant, which led to a slowdown in offers.

She said, “He used to tell people that he had married me. Because of that, filmmakers stopped offering me work. They feared that if I got pregnant, their film would get stuck. It was a huge setback for me.”

Aruna Irani also recalled the challenges faced by actresses in earlier decades of Bollywood, discussing how vulnerability and exploitation were common hurdles.

She said claiming innocence and navigating the male-dominated industry required strategic caution.

Also read:  Aruna Irani recalls being replaced in a film because of Rekha: "she cut me out..."

Today, Aruna Irani is married to filmmaker Kuku Kohli and continues to be regarded as one of Indian cinema’s enduring character actors, having carved out a legacy in both mainstream and character roles.