‘I asked her why…’: Aruna Irani shares Rekha’s ouster from ‘Mangalsutra’
MUMBAI: Legendary Indian actor Aruna Irani, who has worked in the entertainment industry for over five decades, is known for his versatility and has played roles ranging from comedy to drama. In an ANI podcast with Smita Prakash, the actor recently recalled being fired from the 1981 film “Mangalsutra”. Aruna said the film’s heroine Rekha, who was her friend, asked the makers to do so.
“Rekha was a very good friend of mine. In his film ‘Mangalsutra’ they cast me as the first wife who becomes a ghost after her death and Rekha was the other. So when they cast me, they removed me from the film. When I asked them why they removed me from the film, Is there any problem? They said, ‘No, to tell you the truth, Rekha ji doesn’t want to, she doesn’t want to. You do it.
Aruna said that she questioned Rekha about it: “So when I was shooting with her, I said I want to ask a question and she very boldly told her, ‘Producers have removed me from the film’. She said ‘yes’.”
“I asked her why she did this and she said, ‘Look Aruna, if the acting in that film goes anywhere, I will come across as vamp, that’s why you don’t want to do that role.'” Aruna then gave two iterations of a dialogue; one in an emotional voice and one in With a harsh voice, Rekha could have come in as a vamp to show how voice modulation can affect a character’s perception.
“I said, ‘You could have called me or told me, why did you do this, so badly. She said, ‘I’m sorry, what can I do now, it was for my career, so I don’t want to do it,'” added the actor.
“Mangalsutra” is a 1981 Bollywood horror film directed by Vijay B. The film stars Rekha and Ananth Nag in lead roles along with Prema Narayan, Madan Puri and Om Shivpuri. The film is a remake of the 1979 Kannada film “Na Ninna Pitalare” directed by Vijay.
Aruna, who has worked in around 500 films, has won several awards including two Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her performances in ‘Ped Pyar Aur Baap’ and ‘Peeta’.