One of the highest grossing films of 1992, Beta, starring Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit Nene, clocks 30 years today. One of the pillars of the film was Aruna Irani, who played the vile and scheming matriarch Lakshmi Devi. She recalls how challenging it was for her to bag the film, despite the fact that it was helmed by her brother, filmmaker Indra Kumar.

“I had seen the Tamil version, and I wanted to do this film. But my brother never asked me to be a part of it, when he decided to remake it. And I didn’t want to ask for the role. He called up other actresses like Mala Sinha, Waheeda Rehman ji and Sharmila Tagore ji for the role, but nobody accepted the role. They didn’t want to play the vamp,” Irani shares.

The actor reveals that Kumar did come to her with the role of Mainavati (which was eventually played by actor Bharati Achrekar) but she turned it down.

“I felt very sad. I said I won’t do it. I used to do these chhichhora roles. Ghar chalane ke liye maine aise roles kiye hai with (actors) Shakti Kapoor and Kader Khan. So he (Kumar) kept on insisting that you do such roles in other films, so why not in my film? But I put my foot down firmly and told him ‘tere film mein nahi karungi aise roles, baahar karungi’,” the 75-year-old tells us. Irani says that it was actor Shabhana Azmi who convinced her brother to cast her as Lakshmi Devi in the film.

“When he finally offered me the role, I started crying. Before Beta, I used to do only chhichhora roles. This film reintroduced me (in the industry),” she adds.

While her character has attained an iconic status with her big bindi, saree and hair bun, Irani does have a regret. “A big blunder happened with my look. My hair patch didn’t look good at all, as it was not made properly. I didn’t take care of my hair. It was very patchy. I feel stupid,” she concludes.

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When I gave voice to the love song Dhak Dhak Karne Laga, I didn’t think it would become such a huge hit. After I saw the film, I realised the magnitude. All credit goes to (actor) Madhuri Dixit Nene, who enacted so well, that the song became a huge success and is still remembered. Meri bahut aachi yaadein hai uss film se. I am grateful to God that I got the opportunity to sing such a song, and even won awards for it. In fact, I remember when we were recording, we were thinking of how to start the song, an opening, a seductive word, and then I suggested that we could go with ‘Ouch!.’

And little did I know that it would become iconic. Ek choti cheez kabhi kabhi bada roop le leti hai. There have been times at concerts jab farmaish aati hai iss gaane ki. Ek baar Bahrain mein ‘Ouch!’ sunne ke liye 7-8 baar gaana gavaya tha.

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Udit Narayan says:

The film Beta has a special place in my heart. I have some wonderful memories.

When I heard that they were making the film, I wanted to be a part of it. But I had given playback for (actor) Aamir Khan till then, and they felt my voice might not suit Anil ji (Anil Kapoor; actor) who has a mature personality; while Aamir was a chocolate boy hero back then. I was sure my voice would match Anil ji’s persona. So, I sang one song as a trial and told them that if they felt my voice didn’t suit Anil ji, they could re-record it. But it worked out.

Even today, at concerts I sing it. This iconic song became a trademark for Madhuri ji (Madhuri Dixit Nene; actor). There is no function where I am not asked to sing Dhak Dhak.