Aruna Irani & Kader Khan Movies Together List — 33 Films

The shape of the work

The 1980s account for 64% of everything they made together. The 1980s belonged to Qurbani; the 1990s to Raja Babu. Aruna Irani acted in every film; Kader Khan acted in all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• In 'Mawaali' (1983), Kader Khan wrote the dialogue for a scene where Aruna Irani's character slaps him. He told her to actually hit him hard so the reaction looked real. She did. The slap left a mark on his face for the rest of the day's shoot.
• Aruna Irani once said Kader Khan was the only co-star who would rehearse with her at home before a shoot. He'd show up at her place with a notebook, and they'd run lines for hours — even for a forgettable film like 'Umar 55 Ki Dil Bachpan Ka' (1992).
• Their first film together, 'Ganga Aur Suraj' (1980), almost didn't happen. The producer wanted a bigger name opposite Aruna. Kader Khan — then better known as a writer than an actor — convinced the director by offering to rewrite the entire climax for free.
• The only reason 'Hum Hain Kamaal Ke' (1993) got made was because Kader Khan and Aruna Irani agreed to work for half their usual fee. The producer was a first-timer who had no other stars. The film flopped, but it launched that producer's career — he went on to make two more movies with the pair.
• Aruna Irani told a film magazine in 1995: 'Kader sahab never treated me like a heroine. He treated me like a co-actor. That's rare. In 'Shama' (1981), he actually asked me if my saree pallu was comfortable before we shot the emotional scene. No other hero ever asked that.'