Veteran actor Aruna Irani and Mehmood were in a relationship while the latter was married. In a recent interaction, Aruna admitted that since she wasn’t getting much work when she entered the film industry, she was advised to woo Mehmood to get more opportunities, as he was among the top actors in the industry at the time. She acknowledged that Mehmood supported her career, which eventually led her to fall for the late star.
Speaking to Lehren Retro, Aruna revealed that she had been a big fan of Mehmood ever since her school days. She said, “Dance director Suresh Bhatt told me ‘tu Mehmood ko ghaas dal (You woo Mehmood), only he can get you work.’ But there also I kept saying yes and no to Mehmood (refusing his advances), but he started giving me work even on those basis and slowly I developed a soft corner for him. Through him I saw money, fame, name and I thought ‘Mein kab tak iss aadmi ko bewkoof banaugi (Till when will I make this man a fool). Then we became friends and then more than friends, but that was it with him.”
Aruna recalled that she and Mehmood parted ways because they realised they weren’t good for each other’s careers. She also admitted that rumours of their marriage had been circulating, and since Mehmood never clearly addressed them, it negatively impacted her career. She recalled, “Vinod Khanna asked Mehmood if I can play his heroine in a film. He asked Mehmood if we both have been married. Mehmood just looked at me and smiled and didn’t say anything. So he made my career also and ruined it also.”
Later in the conversation, Aruna shared that Mehmood had refused to marry her, even though she wanted to get married to him. She added, “His family prevented him from working with me and so he stopped working with me.” When asked if she went out of the way to please Mehmood in order to get work, she responded, “Not out of the way but definitely haad se bahar jakar I pleased him. I came from a very poor family so that was the first time I saw name, fame, money.”
While Aruna gained success during her relationship with Mehmood, she stopped getting work after they broke up. She said, “I didn’t have a relation with him after that but I had the responsibility of my family and I focused on that. Nobody was giving me work after this break up. I started doing songs. I never had the complex that I am doing songs after playing the lead heroine. I just wanted to get out and earn.”
