View source for Arun Kumar Ahuja

{{Short description|Indian actor-producer}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Arun Kumar Ahuja
| image              =
| caption            =
| birth_date         = 17 January 1917
| birth_place        = [[Gujranwala]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]], [[British Raj|British India]]<br/>(present-day [[Punjab, Pakistan]])
| death_date         = 3 July 1998 (aged 81)
| death_place        = [[Mumbai]], [[Maharashtra]], [[India]]
| death_cause        =
| birth_name         = Gulshan Singh Ahuja
| occupation         = Actor, Producer
| years_active       = 1939–1954
| spouse             = [[Nirmala Devi]] (1942–1996; her death)
| children           = 5, including [[Govinda (actor)|Govinda]]
| relatives          = [[Krushna Abhishek]] (grandson)
}}
'''Arun Kumar Ahuja''' (born '''Gulshan Singh Ahuja''') (17 January 1917 – 3 July 1998), popularly known as '''Aroon''', was an Indian actor and producer who was active in [[Hindi cinema]] in the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in over 30 films in both leading and supporting roles.
He was married to singer and actress [[Nirmala Devi]] and is the father of actor [[Govinda (actor)|Govinda]].
== Career ==
Ahuja was discovered in Lahore where director [[Mehboob Khan]] was on a search for newcomers and Ahuja successfully auditioned and made his debut in the 1939 film ''[[Ek Hi Raasta (1939 film)|Ek Hi Raasta]]'' for [[Sagar Movietone]].<ref name="auto">{{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 film banners such as National Studios, Ranjit Studios and Sagar Movietone. He also sang in most of his films as was the tradition in those days before professional singers were used for [[playback singing]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}
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 also made a popular pairing with his wife [[Nirmala Devi]] in several films such as ''[[Savera]]'' (1942), ''[[Chalis Karod]]'' (1946) and ''[[Ghunghat (1946 film)|Ghunghat]]'' (1946).
In 1948, he set up his own production company named Arun Productions and produced and starred in the film ''[[Sehra (1948 film)|Sehra]]''. ''Sehra'' was a box office failure and Ahuja suffered financial losses due to which his career went into decline. He produced another film named ''Jo Hai Saajan'' which was never released.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/arun-ahuja-|title=Arun Ahuja|website=Cinemaazi}}</ref>
By the early 1950s, film offers were drying up and he quit the film industry after his last film appearance in ''[[Aulad (1954 film)|Aulad]]'' (1954).  The losses Ahuja suffered from his home productions resulted in him selling off his Bungalow in Mumbai's Carter Road in [[Bandra]] and shifting his entire family to a [[chawl]] in [[Virar]] in the early 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news | 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| website=[[The Times of India]]| last1=Gupta| first1=Priya}}</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>
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>
== Personal life & family ==
Ahuja was born as Gulshan Singh Ahuja in Gujranwala, Punjab, present-day Pakistan in 1917.<ref name="auto"/> He took a degree in engineering at a college in Lahore in 1937.
In 1942, he married singer and actress [[Nirmala Devi]], whom he met after they were cast opposite each other in the film ''[[Savera]]''.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}} 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.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}}
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.{{Citation needed|date= July 2022}} 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.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}} 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>
== Selected filmography ==
*''[[Ek Hi Raasta (1939 film)|Ek Hi Raasta]]'' (1939)
*''[[Bhole Bhale]]'' (1939)
*''[[Aurat (1940 film)|Aurat]]'' (1940)
*''[[Azad (1940 film)|Azad]]'' (1940)
*''[[Civil Marriage]]'' (1940)
*''[[Bambai Ki Sair]]'' (1941)
*''[[Beti (1941 film)|Beti]]'' (1941)
*''[[Kanchan (1941 film)|Kanchan]]'' (1941)
*''[[Patola (1942 film)|Patola]]'' (1942)
*''[[Savera]]'' (1942)
*''[[Return of Toofan Mail]]'' (1942)
*''[[Andhera]]'' (1943)
*''[[Shankar Parvati]]'' (1943)
*''[[Chhoti Maa]]'' (1943)
*''[[Bhanwara]]'' (1944)
*''[[Caravan (1944 film)|Caravan]]'' (1944)
*''[[Bhartrahari]]'' (1944)
*''[[Amrapali (1945 film)|Amrapali]]'' (1945)
*''[[Chalis Karod]]'' (1946)
*''[[Khooni]]'' (1946)
*''[[Ghunghat (1946 film)|Ghunghat]]'' (1946)
*''[[Samaj Ko Badal Do]]'' (1947)
*''[[Mera Suhaag]]'' (1948)
*''[[Sehra (1948 film)|Sehra]]'' (1948) (Also Producer)
*''[[Usha Haran]]'' (1949)
*''[[Sudhar]]'' (1949)
*''[[Shaadi Ki Raat]]'' (1950)
*''[[Jai Mahalaxshmi]]'' (1951)
*''[[Kashmir (film)|Kashmir]]'' (1951)
*''[[Aulad (1954 film)|Aulad]]'' (1954)<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>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*{{IMDb name|0038020}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahuja, Arun Kumar}}
[[Category:1917 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Male actors in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male actors]]
[[Category:Hindi film producers]]
[[Category:People from Gujranwala District]]