Veteran actress Aruna Irani was visibly emotional at the prayer meet of her late husband, filmmaker Kuku Kohli, held on August 29 at Celebration Sports Club in Andheri West, Mumbai. Kohli, best known for directing Ajay Devgn’s debut film Phool Aur Kaante, died on August 25 at the age of 77 after suffering a heart attack.

Visuals from the prayer meet showed Aruna, dressed in white with a dupatta covering her head, struggling to hold back tears as she arrived at the venue with family members.

 

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Several members of the Hindi film industry attended Kuku Kohli’s prayer meet to pay their last respect to the filmmaker. Vicky Kaushal and Katrina Kaif arrived with Vicky’s father, veteran action director Sham Kaushal. The couple was dressed in white, with Vicky in a white kurta-pyjama and Katrina in a white suit. Both Vicky and Katrina had also attended Kohli’s funeral earlier this week.

 

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Anil Kapoor also attended Kuku Kohli’s prayer meet, dressed in black, to pay his last respects to the filmmaker. The actor was seen speaking with Aruna Irani and offering his condolences. In videos from the gathering, Anil was seen holding Aruna’s hand as he spoke to her.

 

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Rajpal Yadav, Gajendra Chauhan, Sunny Kaushal, Jackie Shroff and Anupam Kher were also among those present.

Veteran actors Asha Parekh, Madhoo and Poonam Dhillon arrived to offer their condolences, while Ketki Dave attended with her mother, veteran actor Sarita Joshi.

Aruna was seen surrounded by family members and well-wishers as she made her way into the venue. In videos that surfaced online, she appeared overwhelmed with emotion and was seen wiping away tears.

Kohli’s final rites

Kohli’s final rites were held at the Oshiwara Crematorium in Mumbai on August 26. Several members of the film industry, including Rohit Shetty, Katrina Kaif, Vicky Kaushal, Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Sharvari and Rajpal Yadav, attended the funeral to pay their respects.

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Kohli had been admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on August 24 after feeling unwell. According to his family, he had been doing fine before suffering a massive heart attack.

Kuku Kohli began his career under Raj Kapoor

Before becoming a filmmaker, Kuku Kohli worked under legendary filmmaker Raj Kapoor and later assisted Rahul Rawail. He was associated with Rawail on two major Sunny Deol films — Betaab, which marked the actor’s debut in 1983, and the 1985 hit Arjun.

Kohli made his directorial debut with the 1991 action thriller Phool Aur Kaante, which launched Ajay Devgn as a leading man. The film became a major success and remains particularly remembered for Devgn’s iconic entry sequence, in which he appeared standing with one foot on each of two moving motorcycles. The film also starred Madhoo and Aruna Irani, among others.

From Suhaag to Anari No. 1

Kohli followed Phool Aur Kaante with the 1991 action-adventure film Kohraam, starring Dharmendra. He scored another major success with the 1994 action film Suhaag, which brought together Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar and also starred Karisma Kapoor and Nagma.

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He reunited with Ajay for the 1995 action film Haqeeqat, which also featured Tabu. In 1999, Kohli directed the successful comedy Anari No. 1, starring Govinda, Raveena Tandon and Simran.

The same year, he directed Akshay Kumar in the action crime drama Zulmi, which also starred Twinkle Khanna. Kohli later directed Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa in 2002 and Woh Tera Naam Tha in 2004.

Kuku Kohli and Aruna Irani were married in 1990

Kohli and Aruna Irani married in 1990 and remained together for decades. Kohli was previously married to Rita Kohli, with whom he had two children — producer Pooja Kohli and filmmaker Karishma Kohli.

Kohli and Aruna did not have children together. Aruna had previously spoken about their relationship and why they chose to keep their marriage private for several years.