Aruna Irani says her family's poor financial condition led to distance with cousin Bindu: ‘Unse udhar mangte the'

Hindustan Times

9 hours ago

Bollywood veteran Aruna Irani, who has acted in over 500 films across Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, and Gujarati cinema, recently opened up about her relationship with cousin and fellow actor Bindu. In an interview with Lehren Retro, Aruna shared why the two were never close, despite being family. (Also Read: Aruna Irani returns to Mumbai in wheelchair, sings through pain after suffering injury in Bangkok. Watch)
Explaining the family relations, Aruna said, 'She is my step-massi's (aunt's) daughter. My maternal grandfather had two wives—one was my mother's mother, and the other was someone else. Bindu was from the second wife. We were never close as cousins. Her father was a director, Nanubhai Desai, and they always kept their distance. What used to happen was that we didn't have much money, so my mother would often borrow from Jyoti Maasi because she couldn't let her children go hungry, right?'
She explained how her family's situations created a distance between them and added, 'Unse baar baar ₹50 de do, ₹30 de do aise karke mujhe bhejte the lene ke liye. Toh unko pasand nahi tha. Aise koi galat baat nahi hai, par yeh kya ghadi ghadi paise maangte ho. Toh vo ek distance rehta tha humara uss wajah se ki fir kuch naa kuch hoga (My mother would send me again and again to ask for ₹50 or ₹30. They didn't like that. There was nothing wrong in it, but it was like, 'Why do you keep asking for money all the time?' So, a distance remained between us, because we felt something unpleasant might come of it). After we both became actors, we never grew close because we never worked together. People would either cast her or me—so we never got the chance to meet.'
Aruna, known for her versatility, began as a child artist and went on to become a celebrated character actor, later transitioning into television production and direction. Some of her notable films include Bobby, Sargam, Suhaag, and Beta, among others. Bindu, on the other hand, rose to fame in the 1970s and 80s for her iconic vamp roles in films like Kati Patang, Zanjeer, and Hawas. Known for her glamour and commanding screen presence, she became a regular fixture in Bollywood's masala entertainers.