Thursday, November 13, 2008

Aruna Irani and bollywood films.


Aruna Irani and bollywood films.

Aruna Irani, the actress of more than 200 films had seen the transformation of bollywood from the 60s till today. She started acting as a child artist and was recognized by the viewers even in her smaller roles like the one played in Dilip Kumar’s Gunga Jumna in 1961.

In the 70s she made her presence felt after providing landmark performances in the dnace sequences of that age. In Jeetender’s film Karwa, she played the role of an aggressive banjara who had affair with Jeetender. She dazzled with her brilliant dance in Lata’s hit song “dilbar dilbar” composed by RD Burman.

She also did a splendid job in Raj Kapoor’s hit film Bobby. She showed her dancing skills in the song “mai shayar to nahi” sung by Shailendra Singh. She depicted the character of a mentor of Rishi Kapoor in the film. At that period she also acted in prominent roles in films like Bombay to Goa, opposite Big B and Shatrughun Sinha.

In the following period she was used by the directors in every type of role that was possible. She played a negative character in Firoz Khan’s super hit film Qurbani. She killed Amrish Puri and used her brother Shakti Kapoor to even murder Vinod Khanna for the bargain of expensive stones. The greatest transformation took place when Aruna Irani being once a leading actress, a successful dancer became a powerful character artist in the 90s.

She had shown her acting capability in the film Ghulam-i-mustafa, opposite Nana Patekar. She belonged to a South Indian Hindu family who was obsessed with her customs and usages. Nana Patekar being a muslim came to stay in her house to save the family. He had given a word to her girl friend Ravina Tandon who died in a clash, that if he did one good work for any stranger all his bad deed can get excused. Nana Patekar was used by the local politician for unlawful activities. Aruna Irani initially showed her discontent as she never accepted a muslim person in the same house. But her barriers in the mind were removed after knowing Nana Patekar. She displayed the change in the character to perfection in the way Shabana Azmi an Smita Patil used to do in the 80s.

She had excellent comedy skills and that had been depicted in the character roles played opposite Govinda in films like Haseena Maan Jayegi, Dulhe Raja, etc. She matched the comedy conception of veteran actors like Kader Khan with her own style of acting.

In a long career spanning over 40 years there are many films which can be referred to like Khel Khel Me opposite Rakesh Roshan, Sargam with Rishi Kapoor, Love Story, etc. Even her award winning performances like the one in the film Beta with Anil Kapoor, where she won the filmfare award for the best supporting actress, can be referred.

But more importantly she had become an indispensable actress of bollywood films for the last 15 years as she played meaningful roles in every alternative film. The viewers expect her to continue the good work in the films in future.

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