The sudden passing of actor Mukul Dev at 54, on the late night of May 23, left the industry in shock. While tributes poured in, some also speculated about his health and emotional state. His elder brother, actor Rahul Dev, now addresses these conversations, offering clarity and an honest account of Mukul’s final days.

Rahul shares, “He was in the ICU for eight and a half days. Medically, it was a result of poor eating habits. In the last four-five days, he had stopped eating altogether. Of course, he felt lonely, and he had lost interest in life. Usko zindagi jeene ka jazba nahi tha. He would turn down several work offers.”

Mukul had shifted to Delhi in 2019 to care for their ailing father, who passed away that same year. Their mother passed away in 2023. Rahul says, “Only now, after completing all the rituals, is the reality sinking in — and I know the pain will only deepen.”

Rahul recalls how Mukul increasingly withdrew into himself, turning to writing — a solitary pursuit. He says, “He invested himself in writing and grew reclusive. I always encouraged him to return to acting. He missed his daughter immensely, who wasn’t living with him. He wasn’t looking after himself and living alone didn’t help.”

Addressing the circulating claims of Mukul being in depression or unwell, Rahul says, “The people who are speaking out now weren’t even in touch with him. They say he was unfit, but he ran half-marathons. Yes, he had gained weight — when someone stops caring about themselves, it shows. He felt isolated. Who really stayed in touch with him between 2019 and 2024? Did they visit him when he was in hospital or attend his prayer meet? He had two upcoming releases and had recently shot in England for Son Of Sardaar 2. No one will cast you if you’re not fit.”

Though Mukul had transitioned into writing and co-wrote Omerta for Hansal Mehta, Rahul believes the solitary nature of writing may have deepened his sense of isolation. “He was a gifted writer, but writing is lonely work. He needed companionship and a sense of purpose, and those were missing.”

The sense of loneliness, Rahul says, defined a large part of Mukul’s life. “I’m a widower, and he was a divorcee. Sometimes I wonder — is it a kind of curse? When you separate from someone you’ve loved deeply, it’s incredibly hard. Har koi akele aata hai, akele jaata hai, people say — but it’s different when you’re living that aloneness. Mukul split at a young age, and while he had a strong bond with his child, he was never really meant to be on his own,” Rahul shares, and recalls, “He was always surrounded by people, especially women — from childhood, he was effortlessly charming. I, on the other hand, was always shy around girls. He was a star before he became one. And the irony is, someone so naturally social ended up so alone. He never remarried or tried again. His life was full of such ironies. I wish he had been more receptive — things could have turned around.”

Rahul, who is just under two years older than Mukul, often took on a more parental role. He recalls, “I would scold him about his health, and he’d avoid me, especially towards the end. I remember a moment from our childhood — our mother was narrating the story of Shravan taking his blind parents on a pilgrimage. While I quietly teared up, Mukul said, ‘I’ll take you and dad around the world when you turn blind.’ Our mom laughed and said, ‘We’re perfectly fine, why do you want to blind us just to travel with us!’ (laughs!).”

As he reflects on his brother’s legacy, Rahul says, “I choose to remember him not as the man who faded away, but as the super charming, intelligent, and sensitive person he truly was. Kamaal tha woh. His memory was razor sharp — he could learn South Indian dialogues in a snap while I’d take hours. He wasn’t a bechara. He was incredibly gifted — he could’ve been anything: a pilot, a writer, an actor. He brought joy, wit, and energy into every room. That’s the Mukul I knew and that’s how I want the world to remember him.”

Actor Mukul Dev passed away on May 23. He was in the ICU for a week and was battling health issues. Mugdha Godse expressed, "Shocked and saddened. He was a great actor and a friend."

Mukul made a striking Bollywood debut in 1996 with Mahesh Bhatt’s Dastak, a thriller that also launched Sushmita Sen and Sharad Kapoor. In a conversation with Bombay Times, the renowned director recalled his impression of Mukul and what made him special in a film that launched three newcomers.

Shocked by the news, Bhatt said, “Vikram Bhatt called me up this morning and said, Bhatt saab, I have heard the news and I'm so frightened to even confirm this news. Vikram was my associate in Dastak so most of the action scenes and most of the work was done by him with all these three actors, you know. He had a deep bond with him. So, he called me and asked me to verify and then I called Pooja, she was close to Mukul and Pooja herself was astounded. And then we started to inquire from here, there, everywhere until it came through some source on Instagram that he had passed away. So, then I did confirm that to Pooja who was quite devastated, even to Vikram. Mukul was a very close member of our tribe which kind of journeyed through time, you know.”

Remembering Mukul, the director said, “What flickers on the screen of my mind is Mukul’s radiant smile. The most heart-warming smile that would be not only on his lips but in his entire gait, from his eyes, lips, eyes, his entire body would smile when he smiled. He was not aggressive in his demeanour. He was shy, not very outgoing. I don't mean he was shy that he would step back but he was always within the boundaries of his own given space. He would very respectfully carry himself within that. One thing that I noticed very early about him was he was very generous because all three of them were newcomers in the film. You always felt his warmth; never felt his obtrusive presence. There was no attempt of his to flash like a neon sign trying to make his presence felt.”

How did he discover the actor, we ask. “People would come to me because they knew that I was always looking for new people. I would cast new faces in movies. So, I think like Anupam Kher and Rahul Roy, Mukul too came to me looking for an opening in the movies. That’s how Dastak happened. The film was around Sushmita. She came with the dazzle of being Miss Universe. Obviously, tinseltown looks for faces which are radiant and have run up to the glamour world. She came with her thunder, but she was not the kind of person who would flaunt it. She had the humility to own up that she was a beginner. Like all of them. All three were equally confident. I thought Mukul had the charm and I just thought that he fitted that role, he had the language. He was a person who was quite distinct from the raw look of Sharad Kapoor. I needed someone who looked the opposite of Sharad Kapoor so I cast Mukul. He was refined and well-groomed and kind of cultured. Not somebody who like Sharad, had the dust of life on him.”

The director says he heard of Mukul through common friends over the years but drifted apart. “The harsh truth about our business is that when we work, we work on intense projects and we are so intensely engaged with each other. And that's the glue, right? And then when the movie gets over, irrespective of what the outcome of the film is, if you don't work together, you do drift apart. Because you're all fiercely engaged in your own activity of life. Especially if you happen to drift away and go to another town. I used to keep on meeting his brother, Rahul. Very charming man. I used to keep on inquiring about him. I heard he was in Delhi, looking after his ailing mother. He lost her and grief can take a toll. He was ailing himself. Loneliness is a very difficult space to deal with, especially when you have been in the arc lights. And then to be in Delhi and away from the so-called razzle and dazzle of Mumbai. This is based on what I heard but losing an ailing parent can erode you.”

On a concluding note, Bhatt said, “Mukul did leave in his own way his footprints on the sands of time. I remember him as a very warm, endearing man. Mukul Dev still smiles in my head. A radiant smile that lights up my heart.”

Actor Mukul Dev, 54, who went on to build an over 25-year long career across mediums and languages, passed away on Friday night following a brief illness. For many in the Hindi film and television industry, it’s the loss of a kind friend who loved telling stories and bad jokes. To the world, filmmaker Hansal Mehta first collaborated with Dev in 2018 on his Rajkummar Rao-starrer, Omerta.

Dev is credited as the co-writer. But their collaborations go back a long way, and their friendship even longer. “We became friends because we used to go to the same gym. And then we would hang out together all the time. We were literally inseparable. He stood by me during my darkest days,” shares Mehta.

Dev made his film as well as television debut in 1996. The director shares he worked with the actor in both mediums. “We did television together, briefly. We also did a couple of films together, but none of them got released,” he says, before adding that through their intimate friendship, he discovered the storyteller in Dev.

“He used to keep narrating story ideas. In fact, he brought me the story of Omertà. From the time he pitched, the film took almost 14 years to get made. Once I completed the film, I called him and said, ‘Mukul, film ban gayi hai’,” the filmmaker shares.

Dev offered an unwavering support as a friend, says actor Dipshikkha Naggpal, who starred with him in Teri Bhabhi Hai Pagle (2018) and the Vikram Bhatt-directed 2019 series Maya.

Reminiscing about their two decade friendship, she says, “He was an amazing human being. He was a pilot, came from a good background, and was very sophisticated in the way he spoke. He was a thorough gentleman, humble and an extremely kind human being. He was also a very good astrologer and would often read my chart! There was so much more to him than being an actor — he had a personality. He had an amazing face, so I would always take his pictures from different angles. When I told him that women were crushing on him, he would say, ‘Where are these women?’”

It wasn’t just the audience who gushed over Dev’s looks. His peers did it too. And he loved it, Mehta tells us. “He was the most handsome friend I’ve ever had — beautiful eyes, great bone structure, and what a face!” Mehta smiles.

“And he had a good amount of vanity. He could not handle a little bit of paunch or anything showing. He would run on the treadmill. He was so conscious. He was a beast on the treadmill. He would run for an hour at a stretch. And he needed a mirror in front of him to be able to run because he would run and only look at himself,” Mehta laughs.

But he wasn’t the same in the last few years, the filmmaker shares. “The last few years, he just let go. I spoke to him few months ago and told him, 'Why are you not looking after yourself?' He started laughing. He was always laughing. He also used to crack some of the worst jokes possible!” 

But what remained constant was Dev brimming with story ideas. In fact, he would often tell Mehta that he wished to narrate them to him. The narration couldn't happen, a regret the filmmaker harbours.

"He once sent me a voice note saying, 'I want to tell you stories. I have many stories. You listen to them once. You'll like them.' He had been telling me stories for a long time. We kept promising to meet. I would say, 'Come and see me, come to my office. Let's hang out.' But that day never happened. I feel when people are alive, we don't meet enough. Then all you live with later is the regret that you did not meet enough," says a sombre Mehta.

But Dev lives on in the stories and memories shared by his friends and colleagues. Like Mehta tells us about the time when Dev saw his writer’s credit in Omerta. “He was going through a low phase at the time. Seeing the credits, he thanked me profusely, saying, 'Tune mere credit de diya usme yaar. Thank you for doing that.' He just felt so validated and seen because of that one credit. He took so much pride in that," the director shares. Or that moment when the two friends partied all night to celebrate their collaboration. 

"I remember, we had a screening in Delhi. And then Mukul and I partied till the early hours of the morning. I will always remember the gleam in his eyes, and that mysterious smile. And every time you wanted to click a picture, the pout would happen,” Mehta smiles.

Hansal Mehta and Deepshikha Nagpal

Mumbai: Well known actor of Hindi and Punjabi cinema, Mukul Dev, passed away in New Delhi at the age of 54 Friday. He had been hospitalized for an unspecified ailment. The news of his death caused a ripple of shock within the film industry as well as viewers who had watched him in films and on television since the 1990s.

Born in New Delhi to a Punjabi family in 1970, Mukul was the son of a senior police officer. He trained to be a pilot before finding his call in acting. He was initially cast in a movie ‘Naam Kya Hai’ by Amitabh Bachchan's ABCL but it was shelved. He launched his career with Doordarshan through a serial named ‘Mumkin’ in 1996. The same year he made his cinematic debut with Sushmita Sen starrer ‘Dastak’ where he played a police officer.

Mukul went on to feature in 'Qila', 'Wajood', 'Kohram', 'Mujhe Meri Biwi Se Bachaao', 'Yamla Pagla Deewana', 'Son of Sardaar', 'R... Rajkumar', 'Jai Ho' and several Punjabi films including 'Sarabha'.

On television, he was the host of 'Fear Factor India: Season 1'. He acted in serials like 'Kahin Diyaa Jale Kahin Jiyaa', 'Kashish', 'Gharwali Ooparwali', 'Kahaani Ghar Ghar Ki', 'Sshh.. Phir Koi Hai', 'Kumkum... Pyara Sa Bandhan' and 'Pyar Zindagi Hai'. Mukul was the brother of actor Rahul Dev.

He is survived by a 22-year-old daughter Sia. Rahul performed the last rites in Delhi. Friends and peers from the entertainment industry mourned his loss. Actress Deepshikha Nagpal who announced his demise on social media recalled how they met whenever he came to Mumbai. Actor Vindoo Dara Singh remarked that Mukul had kept to himself and stopped stepping out after his parents' death.

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Mukul Dev, former model and familiar face in Hindi and Punjabi films, died at the age of 54 on Friday night. The actor succumbed to severe health complications after a week-long battle in the Intensive Care Unit in a hospital in Delhi. His cremation was conducted on Saturday.

Born into a Punjabi family in Delhi, Mukul was the younger brother to actor-model Rahul Dev. He is survived by his daughter Sia. After the news of his death broke, tributes from the industry began pouring in.

Actor Mugdha Godse (Rahul Dev’s partner) confirmed the news, telling us, “We are still in a state of shock. He was in ICU at a hospital in Delhi, for a week; severe health complications, and he couldn’t survive. None of us in our wildest imagination could think of this coming.”

Veteran actor Puneet Issar, who worked with Mukul in Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011), says, “Not possible, he was so fit and fine... Achcha ladka tha... Saari baatein maanne wala, khush rehna wala insaan — that was him.”

Actor Divya Dutta, a close friend and co-star in Shaatar (2023) and Iski Topi Uske Sarr (1998) shares her grief, saying, “Life is so unpredictable... And how frivolous this life is. I still can’t believe it. He was a dear friend and adorable guy.”

Actor Dipshikkha Nagppal says, “We were part of the same friend circle. Whenever he was in Mumbai from Delhi, we made it a point to catch up. He was only 54 — such a kind and wonderful soul. I can’t wrap my head around it.”

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Yashika Mathur

Dastak (1996) marked his debut in the film industry and as the film clocks 25 years today, actor Mukul Dev is also celebrating the milestone of his silver jubilee in Bollywood.

“I was signed on by actor Amitabh Bachchan’s company and my debut was supposed to be Naam Kya Hai,” reveals Dev.

While that first film didn’t materialise, the actor credits it for helping him bag Dastak.

“Its promos were out on TV. I came into the limelight because of that. Mahesh Bhatt (filmmaker) saab had seen them and had also watched me on TV. These two things played in my favour,” he shares.

The 51-year-old recalls working in his debut, in which he played ACP Rohit Malhotra. The movie also marked the launch of Sushmita Sen as an actor. “I knew Sushmita from my Delhi days when we were modelling. It was a dreamy red carpet launch that anyone could ever get. It was wonderful to work with Sushmita, Bhatt saab and Sharad (Kapoor). We were all so new at that time; a lot of guidance came our way,” reveals the actor.

Dev describes his career of 25 years in Bollywood as a long and fulfilling journey.

“Even if I want to, I cannot complain. The kind of launch I got with Dastak and then the films I did after that. I did TV, Hindi films and then regional films. It is very satisfying and when I look at the competition that is going on today, I think I have done pretty alright for myself. It is not too bad at all,” he ends.

Director Hansal Mehta, known for his penchant for making thought-provoking cinema, is back with a new risqué subject. His upcoming thriller Omerta captures the controversial life of British terrorist of Pakistani origin, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, known for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and his links to various Islamist organisations. BT has learnt that Rajkummar Rao will be seen essaying the titular role of the convicted militant, who is currently being held in a prison in Pakistan. The film is a dramatised retelling of Sheikh's journey to radicalisation.

In an exclusive chat with BT, Hansal reveals that it is by far his most explosive film. He says, “This is based on the said international fugitive, who was involved in Pearl's murder, and it covers a host of terrorist activities (including 26/11) seen through the eyes of this person, who was at the centre of it all. After watching A Mighty Heart (2007), I wanted to know more about the predator and why he chose this path. While various films have tried to showcase terrorism or its repercussions, I felt it was important to explore the other side of the spectrum - what goes on in the minds of these terrorists. There are so many stereotypes associated with terrorism, but the truth is far more murky and cold. Omar came from a privileged background before eventually being radicalised. Actor Mukul Dev told me this story way back in 2005. I wanted to make this film before Shahid, but a lot of research was required and we kept revising the script.“

About roping in Rajkummar Rao, he says, “It was interesting to see him play a character that is totally diverse from what he did in Shahid. Also, he surrenders himself to the role without any kind of baggage.“

Rajkummar elaborates, “It's a complete contrast to what I did in Shahid. I play the anti-hero here. I've tried my best to make this character as real as possible. I even stayed in London for a while to get the hang of his way of life. The character is extremely cold and aloof and it was a bit of a challenge to convince myself as an actor to believe in his convictions."

Since a film of this nature may invite censorship and trouble from various sections, we wonder if the makers are prepared to face the heat. Hansal explains, “Radicals, who indulge in cold-blooded violence, cannot belong to any religion. Religion is just used as an excuse. I want my film to provoke a healthy debate and not an unnecessary controversy. I've never been afraid of trouble or feared censorship. It's a political thriller that deals with radical groups and their nexus with intelligence syndicates. They work hand in glove. It's all a political power play to create unrest and keep the balance oscillating. Why do educated folks get radicalised? It's important to understand the entire system.“