The rocking Instagramma!
She’s unapologetically real. No pretences; and zero airs about her viral virtual presence. Meet Mucherla Aruna, a yesteryear actress now on a path to enhance lifestyles
As chants serenade you into her palatial ECR home in Chennai, Mucherla Aruna, one of Southern cinema’s most-loved names in the 80s, exudes a grace that only an at-peace being can emanate. Aruna made her debut in the Tamil film titled Kallukkul Eeram by the legendary Bharathiraja. She has won the prestigious Nandi award for her role in Telugu film Seethakokka Chiluka. She has acted in more than 70 movies in all four South Indian languages. But today, it’s an entirely different side of her that has garnered a fan-following.
Her Instagram handle that promotes healthy living is very popular. In a span of a few months, her videos are garnering global fan following. And surprisingly, she has not attracted a single negative comment!
“I was raised by my mother Gowriamma and grandmother Mahalakshmiamma,” says Aruna. Well-rested eyes that light up every time she speaks add to her charm as she switches between Telugu and English. “My mother always emphasised the importance of a healthy lifestyle. We were introduced to chia seeds, sabja seeds and jaggery at a very early age. Black tamarind was used in curries during summer to cool our bodies. Hair care and skin care were important for us as girls, but my mother only used homemade
oils, made with bhringraj and hibiscus leaves. Also, rice starch water was used to use to wash our hair,” she says as she fondly recalls her late mother.
As she shows me around her ‘100% vaasthu’ home that has tropical gardens which beckon one through every open courtyard and grill-less floor-to-ceiling window, she speaks of her Instagram journey. “I was in the US to visit one of my daughters.
We started posting everyday photos or recipes. It was just a new thing I learnt, I was keen to post some photos. Requests started pouring in for health hacks and recipes. Surprisingly, even newage kids were keen on traditional food and skin care regimens and even wanted to learn about seasonal produce.”
Aruna ensures a “single shot take” for the videos, says her daughter Sobika Gupta, a wellness
expert who runs her own website — wellnesstherapy.in.
“All my content is original,” says Aruna. “I wake up at 5 a.m. every day and ensure I get a good yoga session and workout in. Then I do my Puja and cook for the whole family. All meals are made by me.”
Naming her only indulgence, she says, “I have to have rice for lunch. And once in a while I bake my own banana bread.”