Mukul Dev, When Filmistan Abandons A Good Actor

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 etiquettes of lawry in Pakistan.

Says Mukul, “There  is nothing that  I won’t do 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 just need to go by his decisions. We both feel we want my villain’s character in Bhaag Johnny Bhaag  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 got him, Mukul Dev just couldn’t  stop thanking his stars. “I guess I am just lucky.Or else who gets a second a chance so late in one’s career? I am 40 now. When I started in film I was young reckless and a bit over-confident. I made wrong career choices. But today I’m happy to say my career has come a full circle with. 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 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.