“One thing that I noticed very early about Mukul was he was very generous because all three of them were newcomers in Dastak ( Sushmita Sen , Mukul Dev and Sharad Kapoor ). 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. He was not aggressive in his demeanour”
Mukul Dev, who passed away on May 23, 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 the Insta 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.”