https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Arun_Kumar_AhujaArun Kumar Ahuja - Revision history2026-07-30T17:40:19ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Arun_Kumar_Ahuja&diff=180859&oldid=prev>Plastikspork at 14:51, 25 September 20212021-09-25T14:51:34Z<p></p>
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{{Infobox person<br />
| name = Arun Kumar Ahuja<br />
| image = Arun Kumar Ahuja.jpg<br />
| caption = Screen shot from film ''Shaadi Ki Raat'' (1950)<br />
| birth_date = 17 January 1917<br />
| birth_place = [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British India]]<br />
| death_date = 3 July 1998<br />(aged 81)<br />
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]<br />
| death_cause = <br />
| birth_name = Gulshan Singh Ahuja<br />
| occupation = Actor, Producer<br />
| years_active = 1939–1954<br />
| spouse = [[Nirmala Devi]] (1942–1996; her death)<br />
| children = 5, including [[Govinda (actor)|Govinda]]<br />
}}<br />
'''Arun Kumar Ahuja''' (born '''Gulshan Singh Ahuja''' 17 January 1917 – 3 July 1998), popularly known as '''Aroon''', was an [[India]]n film actor and producer who was active in the [[Hindi_film|Hindi language]] film industry in the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in over 30 films in both leading and supporting roles. He was perhaps best known for appearing in [[Mehboob Khan]]'s 1940 film ''[[Aurat (1940 film)|Aurat]]'' which was the predecessor of the Oscar nominated 1957 remake ''[[Mother India]]''. He was married to singer and actress [[Nirmala Devi]] and is the father of actor [[Govinda (actor)|Govinda]].<br />
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== Career ==<br />
Ahuja was living in Lahore when director [[Mehboob Khan]] was looking for new talent and cast him in the leading role in the 1939 film ''[[Ek Hi Raasta (1939 film)|Ek Hi Raasta]]'' for [[Sagar Movietone]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hindi-movies-songs.com/joomla/index.php/hindi-films/articles/637-musing-125-govinda-s-father-narsingh-727|title = Hindi Movies Films Songs Books ... - Musing 125: Govinda's father, Narsingh 727}}</ref> He went on to act in over 30 films throughout the 1940s and early 1950s playing leading and supporting roles for National Studios, Ranjit Studios and Sagar Movietone. In 1940, he played perhaps his most well known role in Mehboob Khan's ''[[Aurat (1940 film)|Aurat]]'' where he acted opposite [[Sardar Akhtar]]. This film was later remade as the more famous and well known blockbuster ''[[Mother India]]'' (1957). He was paired with actresses such as [[Shobhana Samarth]], [[Monica Desai]] and [[Khursheed Bano]] throughout his career. He made a popular pairing with his wife [[Nirmala Devi]] in several films such as ''[[Savera]]'' (1942), ''[[Chalis Karod]]'' (1946), ''[[Ghunghat (1946 film)|Ghunghat]]'' (1946) and his home production ''[[Sehra (1948 film)|Sehra]]'' (1948). He also sang in most of his films as was the tradition in those days before professional singers were used for [[playback singing]]. In his debut film ''Ek Hi Raasta'' he sang a duet with [[Maya Banerjee]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://atulsongaday.me/tag/arun-kumar-ahuja/|title=Arun Kumar Ahuja – Atul's Song a Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs}}</ref><br />
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By the early 1950s, acting offers were declining and he quit acting after his last film appearance in ''[[Aulad (1954 film)|Aulad]]'' (1954). <br />
The only film he produced was a box office disaster which resulted in him selling off his Bungalow in Mumbai’s Carter Road in [[Bandra]] and shifting his entire family to a [[chawl]] in [[Virar]].<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Govinda-One-day-mummy-predicted-her-own-death-to-me/articleshow/45230262.cms | title=Govinda: One day mummy predicted her own death to me – Times of India}}</ref> His health failed during this time and his wife Nirmala had to work as a singer on radio and touring concerts to provide for the family of three daughters and two sons.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-the-arts/films/story/19970728-once-dismissed-as-downmarket-govinda-emerges-as-indias-entertainer-no.1-830439-1997-07-28 | title=Once dismissed as downmarket, Govinda emerges as India's Entertainer No.1}}</ref><br />
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Arun lived a reclusive life after leaving the film industry and died in 1998 at the age of 81 of a heart attack.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980704/18550574.html |title=Latest News, India News, Chandrayaan 2 News Updates, Breaking News, Live News Online, Today Headlines |access-date=2014-10-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141025075014/http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19980704/18550574.html |archive-date=25 October 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref><br />
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== Personal life & family ==<br />
Ahuja was born as Gulshan Singh Ahuja in pre-partition [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]], [[India]] in 1917.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hindi-movies-songs.com/joomla/index.php/hindi-films/articles/637-musing-125-govinda-s-father-narsingh-727|title = Hindi Movies Films Songs Books ... - Musing 125: Govinda's father, Narsingh 727}}</ref> He took a degree in engineering at a college in Lahore in 1937. Mehboob Khan came to Lahore to find new talent and selected Ahuja as the leading man in his film ''[[Ek Hi Raasta (1939 film)|Ek Hi Raasta]]'' in 1939.<br />
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In 1942, he married singer and actress [[Nirmala Devi]], whom he met after they were cast opposite each other in the film ''[[Savera]]''. They were married until Nirmala's death in 1996. Together they had three daughters named Pushpa, Padma and Kamini. Their sons are actor/director [[Kirti Kumar]] and actor [[Govinda (actor)|Govinda]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cineplot.com/nirmala-devi-my-son-govinda|title=Nirmala Devi – My Son Govinda – Cineplot.com}}</ref> After an acting career that spanned 15 years, Ahuja quit acting in 1954 and suffered from poor health after the failure of his home production. The losses he suffered led to him selling off his Bungalow in Mumbai and move to a [[chawl]] in [[Virar]]. His wife had to provide for the family by singing and touring concerts.<br />
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His youngest son Govinda would go on to become a successful actor decades later in the 1980s and 1990s and his other son Kirti Kumar became a director and occasional actor. Several of his grandchildren would go on to become actors in the film and television industry including [[Vinay Anand]], [[Krishna Abhishek]], [[Ragini Khanna]], [[Aarti Singh]], [[Soumya Seth]] and [[Tina Ahuja]]. His daughter Padma is the mother of Krishna and Aarti and died in the early 1980s soon after giving birth to Aarti.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.tellychakkar.com/tv/tv-news/aarti-singh-opens-about-her-foster-parents-160415 |title = Aarti Singh opens up about her 'foster' parents}}</ref> His eldest daughter Pushpa who is the mother of Vinay Anand, died in 2011 aged 68.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/actor-govindas-sister-passes-away/854704 | title=Actor Govinda's sister passes away – Indian Express}}</ref><br />
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== Selected filmography ==<br />
<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgo9BAAAQBAJ&q=arun+durable+actor&pg=PT44 |title = Hero|isbn = 9789381398029|last1 = Raj|first1 = Ashok|date = November 2009}}</ref><br />
*''[[Ek Hi Raasta (1939 film)|Ek Hi Raasta]]'' (1939)<br />
*''[[Bhole Bhale]]'' (1939)<br />
*''[[Aurat (1940 film)|Aurat]]'' (1940)<br />
*''[[Azad (1940 film)|Azad]]'' (1940)<br />
*''[[Civil Marriage]]'' (1940)<br />
*''[[Bambai Ki Sair]]'' (1941)<br />
*''[[Beti (1941 film)|Beti]]'' (1941)<br />
*''[[Kanchan (1941 film)|Kanchan]]'' (1941)<br />
*''[[Patola (1942 film)|Patola]]'' (1942)<br />
*''[[Savera]]'' (1942)<br />
*''[[Return of Toofan Mail]]'' (1942)<br />
*''[[Andhera]]'' (1943)<br />
*''[[Shankar Parvati]]'' (1943)<br />
*''[[Chhoti Maa]]'' (1943)<br />
*''[[Bhanwara]]'' (1944)<br />
*''[[Caravan (1944 film)|Caravan]]'' (1944)<br />
*''[[Bhartrahari]]'' (1944)<br />
*''[[Amrapali]]'' (1945)<br />
*''[[Chalis Karod]]'' (1946)<br />
*''[[Khooni]]'' (1946)<br />
*''[[Ghunghat (1946 film)|Ghunghat]]'' (1946)<br />
*''[[Samaj Ko Badal Do]]'' (1947)<br />
*''[[Mera Suhaag]]'' (1948)<br />
*''[[Sehra (1948 film)|Sehra]]'' (1948) (Also Producer)<br />
*''[[Usha Haran]]'' (1949)<br />
*''[[Sudhar]]'' (1949)<br />
*''[[Shaadi Ki Raat]]'' (1950)<br />
*''[[Jai Mahalaxshmi]]'' (1951)<br />
*''[[Kashmir (film)|Kashmir]]'' (1951)<br />
*''[[Aulad (1954 film)|Aulad]]'' (1954)<br />
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== References ==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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== External links ==<br />
*{{IMDb name|0038020}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahuja, Arun Kumar}}<br />
[[Category:1917 births]]<br />
[[Category:1998 deaths]]<br />
[[Category:Male actors in Hindi cinema]]<br />
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]<br />
[[Category:Place of birth missing]]<br />
[[Category:Hindi film producers]]<br />
[[Category:Punjabi people]]<br />
[[Category:People from Gujranwala District]]</div>>Plastikspork