Aruna Irani and the late producer Kuku Kohli's love story and "secret" marriage often grabbed headlines back in the day. Aruna Irani did not speak about the episode much while Kuku Kohli's first wife was alive. Four years ago, Aruna Irani opened up in an interview about how she met Kuku Kohli on a film set and how their relationship blossomed.
"We met each other during one of the films we worked on together. During that film, he used to make all the other actors wait until Dharmendra ji arrived on set to start the shoot. And I used to get very angry at him as I was also working on some other films at that time. So we started with a love-hate relationship. I used to get very upset with him and he used to console me. Uss chakkar mein kaise lafda ho gaya samajh nahi aaya (I don't know how we fell for each other because of that)," Aruna Irani told The Times of India.
Aruna Irani was quite surprised when she found out that Kuku was already married and had children.
"He didn't even tell me that he was married when we met, and that's how I fell in love with him. So it didn't feel right to speak about our relationship as he was already married with a wife and daughters. Now I am talking about it because his first wife passed away a few months back," she said during the interview.
Aruna and Kuku got married in 1990 when she was 40.
In an earlier interview with Filmfare, Aruna also explained why she and Kuku Kohli didn't have children.
"When I see my nephews and nieces today, I'm glad I have no children. If a visitor came to the house and my child didn't greet them or kept lolling on the sofa, as today's children do, I would be upset. Their attitude is, 'So what?' God is great. A dear friend, Dr Ajay Kothari, helped me see reason and make up my mind. He said, 'It's fine that you got married, you need companionship, but the generation gap between a child and you would be too much to handle.' I believe he was right. My child and I would have suffocated each other," she said.
Veteran filmmaker Kuku Kohli, known for his 1991 film Phool Aur Kaante, died at the age of 77, friend Ashoke Pandit said on Tuesday.
"He was feeling uncomfortable and was therefore admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital yesterday. He passed away due to a massive heart attack around 4:30 pm," Ashoke Pandit told PTI.
Kohli is survived by his wife, actress Aruna Irani, and his two daughters, Pooja and Karishma, from his first marriage to Rita Kohli.
