Aruna Irani has returned to work two months after the death of her husband, filmmaker Kuku Kohli. In an emotional Instagram video shared on Sunday, the veteran actor said the audience’s support is the reason she could face the camera again.
“It’s because of your love and support that I am standing in front of you and am able to resume work again,” Irani said in the clip. She added that she hopes fans will remain with her “till my last breath.”
A loss that touched Hindi cinema
Kohli died of a heart attack on 25 August 2026 at the age of 77. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai on 24 August after feeling unwell, and collapsed while speaking to family. He was cremated the following day.
Kohli is best remembered for launching Ajay Devgn with Phool Aur Kaante (1991), the film that gave Hindi cinema one of its most imitated entry sequences. His filmography includes Suhaag, Haqeeqat, Kohram and Anari No. 1.
An audience bond built over decades
Irani’s thanks carry weight because she is not a passing figure in Hindi film. She began as a child actor and built a career across Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati cinema, with memorable titles such as Caravan, Bobby, Beta, Raja Babu and Dil To Pagal Hai, and television shows including Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand and Jhansi Ki Rani.
The video matters because it makes visible the relationship between a long-working performer and the audience that kept watching, a bond that outlasts any single release.
- The return is measured rather than promotional: no new film or show was announced.
- The message frames fans as the reason she could resume work, not as distant spectators.
- It closes the most public chapter of mourning while leaving the door open to continued work.
In August, Vicky Kaushal, Katrina Kaif, Sham Kaushal and Rohit Shetty were among those who attended the funeral. Kohli is survived by Irani and his two daughters from his first marriage, Pooja and Karishma.
For a chronicle of Hindi cinema, such moments are part of the record: the filmmakers and actors who shaped the screen are also its memory-keepers, and their private losses become part of the audience’s shared history.
Source: Hindustan Times
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