Rishi Kapoor & Aruna Irani Movies Together List — 7 Films

The shape of the work

The 1980s account for 86% of everything they made together. The 1970s belonged to Sargam; the 1980s to Karz. Rishi Kapoor acted in every film; Aruna Irani acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Rishi Kapoor was initially hesitant to do Sargam (1979) because he thought the deaf-mute role would be too limiting. Aruna Irani convinced him to take it, telling him it would be a career-defining challenge. He later admitted she was right.
• In Karz (1980), Aruna Irani played the villainous mother while Rishi Kapoor played her son — but they were only 3 years apart in real life. She deliberately acted older on set, speaking in a lower register, so the age gap felt believable. Rishi matched her by playing up his character's vulnerability.
• Aruna Irani and Rishi Kapoor remained close friends long after their films ended. She once said in an interview that he was the only co-star who would call her just to check in, even when they weren't working together.
• "Rishi was the only hero who never made me feel like a supporting actress. He treated me like a co-star, not a prop." — Aruna Irani, in a 2012 interview with Filmfare.
• The song "Dafli Wale" from Sargam (1979) became a template for Rishi Kapoor's later comic-dance numbers. Aruna Irani's energetic backup choreography in that song directly inspired the way future heroines were positioned in his solo songs — as active participants, not just eye candy.