Personal details
- Birth Location: Botad, Gujarat, India
- Parents: Faridun Irani
- Professions: Director, Producer, Actor
Indra Kumar, born Indra Irani, isn’t your typical Bollywood bigwig—he’s the guy who kind of snuck in while everyone was busy watching his famous siblings make headlines. Raised by his powerhouse eldest sister Aruna Irani after their mom passed, Kumar owes a lot to his close-knit family. His school days happened in Mumbai, bouncing between Utpal Shaangvi Global School and Ascend International, but the screen was where he really found his groove. He first popped up in ‘Kismat’ (1969), and then in ‘Biwi Kiraya Ki’ (1975)—honestly, blink and you’d miss it, but hey, everyone starts somewhere. His Gujarati debut rolled in with ‘Gangapur Ni Ganga’ (1980), and he even tried his luck in Assamese cinema with ‘Charotar Ni Champa’ (1982). Not content just acting, Kumar launched Maruti Films Pvt Ltd in 1985, kicking off with ‘Mohabbat.’ Producing movies like ‘Kasam’ and ‘Daddy Cool,’ he kept sliding between genres and decades like it was nothing. But directing? That’s where things got wild. ‘Dil’ (1990) was his first, smashing the box office and scooping up plenty of nominations. Then came ‘Beta’ and ‘Raja,’ both nabbing him Best Director nods at Filmfare. Fast forward, he’s behind hits like ‘Ishq,’ ‘Mann,’ ‘Aashiq,’ and the chaos-fest ‘Dhamaal’ series, which just kept getting bigger (and weirder, in the best way). ‘Grand Masti’ broke records, the ‘Dhamaal’ sequels pulled in crores, and he just kept the laughs coming. Even after decades, with flicks like ‘Thank God,’ Kumar’s still cranking out those crowd-pleasers, proving old-school Bollywood hustle never really goes out of style.
Here’s a fun nugget for Bollywood buffs: Aruna Irani, that powerhouse actress who basically owned the screen through the '70s and '80s, ended up marrying Kuku Kohli, a director best known for launching Ajay Devgn in “Phool Aur Kaante.” Now, Kuku Kohli’s brother-in-law? That’s a connection hardly anyone talks about but is honestly kind of wild when you think about the tangled web of Bollywood families. It’s always fascinating how interconnected everyone in the industry is—one minute you’re watching a dramatic family saga on screen, the next you find out those same family ties exist in real life behind the camera. These off-screen relationships sometimes even spill over into casting choices and film partnerships, which just adds another layer to the gossip and intrigue. So next time you’re binge-watching old classics, remember—half the drama probably started at the dinner table, not the film set.
Konidela Ram Charan
Botad, Gujarat, India
Yes, Shweta Kumar
Faridun Irani and Surekha