The late Mukul Dev, model-actor Rahul Dev’s elder brother made his debut alongside Sushmita Sen as a leading man in Vikram Bhatt’s Dastak 29 years ago. Then Mukul lost his way in a maze of forgettable films.
No one seemed to notice how he held the screen in Girish Malik’s Jal and Samir Karnik’s Yamla Pagla Deewana.
All but lost to show-world, Mukul Dev made an impressive comeback in Ashwin Dheer’s Son Of Sardaar, where he was a scream as a clunk, a goofy dimwitted cousin in Sanjay Dutt’s family. Though not a pivotal role, it has fetched Mukul enough praise to get him noticed by his first director.
Mukul was then signed to play the main antagonist in Vikram Bhatt’s Bhaag Johnny. Mukul was to play a Pakistani cop. And since Pakistani cops dress, speak, and behave differently from their Indian counterparts, producer Vikram Bhatt wanted Mukul to spend time in Karachi to observe the workings of their police department.
A tough task, considering the precarious relations between the two countries. But Vikram had an alternative plan in mind. If Mukul won’t be allowed into Pakistan, Bhatt would invite experts from across the border to come over and coach Mukul on the etiquette of law in Pakistan.
Says Mukul, “There is nothing that I won’t do to get my role right. I am game for every kind of role, but the film industry seems to have turned a blind eye to me. Vikram has it all planned. I need to go by his decisions. We both feel we want my villain’s character in Bhaag Johnny to be unlike any grey character seen in Hindi films.”
Bhaag Johnny, directed by Shivam Nair, found Mukul giving a rousing performance as ACP Pathan. But the roles were still hard to come by.
In Son Of Sardar, his role as Tony Singh Sandhu brought the house down.
Delighted at the attention SOS had gotten him, Mukul Dev just couldn’t stop thanking his stars. “I guess I am just lucky. Or else, who gets a second chance so late in one’s career? I am 40 now. When I started in film, I was young, reckless, and a bit overconfident. I made wrong career choices. But today, I’m happy to say my career has come a full circle. I am back working with Vikram, who was my first director.”
Mukul would play the main antagonist in the film.
Says the actor, “I went to Vikram for Bhaag Johnny Bhaag with my long hair and beard, thinking I was the coolest dude. He told me to get rid of the look. He wants me to play the villain without the usual props.”
Life wasn’t a joyride for Mukul. Some years ago, he went through a messy divorce.
Mukul was trying to be brave when he told me, “But the good part is that I have a daughter, Siya, who’s my life and reason to live. She stays in Delhi with her mother. I try to visit her as frequently as possible. Since I have a home in Delhi and since Siya and her mother stay closeby, it is not as difficult for father and daughter to be together as it seems,”
Never a cribber, always an optimist, Mukul Dev never got what he deserved. Now it’s too late.
