Growing Through A Hard Childhood, Aruna Irani Had Meals Of 'Rice And Onion'

Veteran actress Aruna Irani will be seen gracing the upcoming episode of the television dance reality show 'India's Best Dancer 3', where she will open up on the constraints and struggles during her childhood.

Heavily impressed by contestant Anjali and her dance, the actress related to Anjali's struggles that she started earning from the age of 13 to support her family. The actress will go on stage to give Anjali a sweet gift, a statue of 'Ganpati Bappa', leaving Anjali teary eyed.

Reminded of her days of struggle, an emotional Aruna said: "I see myself in Anjali, even though I started working at the age of 9 to support my family. What she is doing is very sweet of her, because these days, few people understand their responsibilities. It is admirable to set aside your desires and ambitions to focus on supporting your family. I am confident that you will achieve a lot of success and greatness in the future."

She further mentioned: "I come from a family of eight siblings, and being the eldest, I naturally assumed the role of responsibilities. However, my parents never requested that I discontinue my education. I did it independently. Back in the day, when we didn't have enough money, my mother would give us rice with onions to eat. We used to face difficulties in paying our rent on time, which led to people threatening to evict us from our house. However, we had no other place to go, which made me realise the importance of supporting my family and motivated me to start working."

Aruna Irani also shared how her father always regretted not having a son as his oldest child, but on his death bed, he mentioned that he was proud of his daughter, saying that his Aruna is "Arun" for him.

'India's Best Dancer 3' will air this weekend on Sony Entertainment Television.