About Me!
Aruna enrolled initially at Grant Medical College in Pune to study medicine but later quit to join the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII). She passed out of FTII with a gold medal in 1969 becoming the first trained woman technician in the industry. At the beginning of her career Aruna Raje worked jointly with her ex-husband Vikas Desai in the name of Aruna-Vikas. She co-edited acclaimed films like Giddh and Masoom. The duo later took to direction making films like Shaque, Gehrayee and Sitam. After separating from her husband she began independent film-direction, making hard hitting feminist movies. She has also made national award-winning documentaries on the well-known classical dancer Mallika Sarabhai and special children, The New Paradigm. She has won 5 National Awards for her films.