Filmmaker Kuku Kohli passed away on Tuesday. He was married to Aruna Irani for 36 years but the actress chose to not have children with him as he was already married earlier. Here’s recalling when Aruna Irani spoke about affair with him, the pain of being a second wife and why she did not want her children to go through that, which is why, she chose to remain childless.She had once spoke about it in an interview with Lehren and said, “Kabhi kabhi aap woh galli mein ghus jaate ho. Kuch samajh nahi aata. One way galli hoti hai. Aap hatna bhi chaaho toh hat nahi sakte. Insaan kabhi akela hota hai aur kisise kuch mann lag jaata hai na toh you get carried away. Aaj aapko khushi milti hai na toh aap bhul jaate ho ke kal kaisa dukh hoga. (Sometimes you just don’t understand why and how you enter a lane and there’s no turning back. It’s a one way lane. When a person is all all alone and gets some love from someone, or feels good with someone, they think about the happiness of that moment, without realising the pain they will get next day).”Aruna revealed that she did try to marry someone else and leave Kuku so he can live happily with his family. But he never let her do so. “Maine try ki ke doosri jagah shadi karlu but he didn’t let me,” she said.When asked about why she never had children, Aruna said, “I’m second wife’s daughter. Mere papa ki do shadiyan hui thi. First shadi hui thi tab unko bacche nahi the toh unhone mummy se shadi ki. Toh main paida hui aur line lag gayi. Kabhi bhi papa ko officially aap kisi ke saamne papa nahi bol sakte. Par hum bacche the toh kabhi bolte the, toh mummy didn’t like. She used to object us. Unhone naa bola. (My father didn’t have a child with his first wife, which is why he married my mother. Then me and my siblings were born. But we were told not to call our father ‘papa’ publicly).”The actress also revealed that she did not have the courage like Neena Gupta. “Mujhe aisa lagta tha. Ke mere bacche woh face nahi kare. Aaj kal toh shadi nahi bhi hui thi tab bhi you can have a child. Neena Gupta ji ko dekhke mujhe lagta hai yeh courage hai. I didn’t have the courage. I didn’t want my child to face anything. A child’s mind goes through a lot. Bacche ke bagair mujhe chal jayega but I didn’t want my kid to suffer. (I didn’t like that as a child. I also never wanted my children to face the same. Now times have changed. But those were conservating times. When I used to see Neena Gupta ji, I felt inspired, she had the courage to give birth to a child without marriage. But I didn’t have the courage. I would rather be childless than just let me kids hear any taunts to let them suffer)”Aruna Irani dded, “I used to think, ‘He is a married man, he has his own house. If I have my kids and if they ask about their father, uss wakhat main isko kya jawab du.’ Hamare bhi jhagde ho jaate. Agar mera baccha tumko chahta hai aur tum ho nahi toh what is the meaning of this relationship. We are happy without having kids. (I used to think he’s a married man, he has his own house. What if I have kids and if they ask about their father, want their father someday and he’s not available. That would lead to us also fighting because I wouldn’t like that my child wants a father and he’s unavailable).”
