Aruna Raje

Aruna Raje Biography

Aruna Raje is a female director and editor from Bollywood. Rihaee, Bhairavi and Tum – A Dangerous Obsession are her major works as a film director. She has also directed Marathi movies like Firebrand in 2018. She mostly works on women-centric scripts and movies, and has been associated with the industry since 1976. In her early movies, she worked aside Vikas Desai – her husband till they separated, and they were credited as Aruna-Vikas in the 1970s. Shaque in 1976 starring Vinod Khanna and Shabana Azmi was her first movie as a director, which she directed aside Vikas, followed by Gehrai and Sitam. Rihaee in 1988 was her movie as an independent film director.

Aruna Raje hails from Pune, Maharashtra. She was born in year 1946. She enrolled at Grant Medical College in Pune to study medicine. However she discontinued studies and joined FTII, Pune to study movie technician. When she passed out in year 1969 with a gold medal, she was the first trained woman technician in the industry. She joined hands with Vikas Desai, whom she married, and they worked together for many years, during her initial phase in Bollywood cinema. After her divorce she embarked on a journey of her own. She had two children in this wedlock – a son and a daughter. Her daughter is no more.

Apart from scripting and directing films, she has also done editor’s job for numerous movies. Giddh and Masoom are among her works as a co-editor. Her documentary on Mallika Sarabhai - The New Paradigm won National film awards. She turned a feminist filmmaker only after her divorce, and most of her films later told stories of strong woman characters.

Published: January 04, 2020

Updated: January 04, 2020