Daisy Irani

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Acting career was accidental. When Daisy Irani was 2 and half year old she was playing in her building complex when filmmaker Bipin Gupta, who lived I the same building saw Daisy and mistook her as a boy because she was wearing her elder brothers cloths. Bipin Gupta immediately contacted the parents but her father declined but her mother insisted. Thus Daisy Irani did her first film Taksaal. The film was hit and Daisy Irani was flooded with big banner films of Satyen Bose, B.R. Chopra etc.

Daisy Irani chose marriage over career. Daisy Irani met K.K.Shukla on the sets of a film, in which he was directing her for a dance sequence. During the shooting, both development a fondness for each other and decided to marry. But Daisy Iranis mother created a fuss as she wanted Daisy Irani to do the film Tarzan Ki Beti, in which Daisy was given a heroine role. Daisy was in two minds – on one hand lay career and in other hand, a settled life. Daisy selected a settled life. Her mother made a lot of hue and cry but her father supported her. The duo married in 1971 according to Arya Samaj style as Daisy was Parsi and Shukla a Hindu. The marriage was successful.

Though a girl Daisy Irani got stereotyped as a boy Since Daisy Irani played a boy in his first film she was stereotyped as a boy in many films. In an interview Irani said, “I was an extrovert hence I was not scared of either the camera nor was afraid of my co-stars. Luckily my co-stars Dada Moni (Ashok Kumar ), Dilip Kumar, Balraj Sahni, Meena Kumari, Nirupa Roy etc were great human being, despite top stars, they were earthy. From them I learned to be grounded despite stardom.” Daisy Irani shared a warm relation with Meena Kumari Daisy Irani credits her success in films to Meena Kumari. She said since she had faced the rigors of studios in her childhood, hence she understood her pangs. “Meenaji always loved me as her own child and I regarded her as my mother. The love that I never got from my mother I sought from her. From my second film Ek hi Rasta, I did many film with her. In fact my last film as a teenager Gomti Ke Kinare was with Meenaji,” recalled Daisy Irani . Remembering Meena Kumari’s affection for her, Daisy said, “ In the film Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan (1959) there was a scene, where she had to slap me but each time she raised her hand to hit me; she would stop back. Finally after many re-takes she slapped me but soon after the scene she hugged me and apologized to hit me. She was truly a kind woman. When Lalita Pawar rescued Daisy Irani from drowning Little Daisy Irani was always afraid of Lalita Pawar, who was a specialist in doing roles of a cruel mother-in-law. Once Daisy Irani was shooting at Prabhat Studio, It was one of the few studios then to have a swimming pool. Daisy Irani being a naughty kid jumped into the pool to enjoy swimming when she actually did not know swimming. . Hence she began drowning. She cried for help. Near-by Lalita Pawar was rehearsing her dialogue. When she saw Daisy Irani drowning, she wasted no time and herself jumped into the pool and rescued her. Daisy Irani hugged her and after that she developed a lot of love for Lalita Pawar. Daisy Irani lost shine in teenage After doing hit films like Naya Daur (1957), Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan (1959), Dhool Ka Phool (1959), Do Ustad (1959), Detective (1958), Jailor (1958) Bhabhi (1957), Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke (1957) etc in the late 60’s as Daisy turned teenager she lost her charm. She tried to get adult roles but she was too young to be a heroine and too old to play children role. She once said, “When I was about 15 years, film producer would touch me at inappropriate place calling me beti. I used to get very angry but keep quite. My mother was hell bent on making me a heroine but I was felling suffocated with film world. Hence I decided to quit and get settled.”