Actor Mukul Dev died on May 23, 2025, at the age of 54. More than a year after his death, as Udta Teer released last week, he has been praised for his performance. Udta Teer writer-director Aakash A Kaushik recently opened up about the fond memories he has of filming with Mukul Dev. He also revealed the use of AI to incorporate Mukul Dev's Operation Sindoor dialogue into the film.
The shooting for Udta Teer took place in 2024. The film features a sequence addressing Operation Sindoor, which took place on May 7, 2025. In conversation with Bollywood Hungama, the question arose whether the Udta Teer director tweaked the script to incorporate the Operation Sindoor reference.
He confirmed, "Yes. We had plans to show something else. But when Operation Sindoor happened, we decided to tweak his dialogue."
Considering Mukul Dev died on May 23, 2025, the Udta Teer director added that AI was used to recreate Mukul Dev's voice for the dialogue.
Operation Sindoor the military campaign launched by India against terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir following the Pahalgam terror attack in April 2025.
On Working With Mukul Dev
Furthermore, Aakash revealed how much he misses Mukul Dev's laughter and the wonderful experience of working with him.
He said, "Whenever I would narrate the scenes to him, he would laugh his heart out and remark, 'Yaar, yeh bahut funny hai'. The way he picked up the accent was amazing. We worked hard to get it right as well."
He added, "I would be sitting at home at 12:30 am and suddenly, he would call me. I'd pick up and ask, 'Hello, sir. Is everything okay?' He wouldn't say anything; he would just laugh. I would ask what happened, and then he would say, 'Yaar, I can't stop laughing. Main so-and-so scene yaad kar ke has raha hoon'."
"He would generally not type messages. Instead, he would send me voice notes on WhatsApp. I still have those voice notes and listen to them. He would say, 'Tune yeh bahut accha role likha hai. Iss picture ke baad, mujhe poore India se pyaar milega'. I would respond, 'Sir, maine accha likha hai, lekin aapne usse bhi better perform kiya hai'. I promised him that he would get a lot of love, and he did. I am sure he's watching from above and feeling very proud of himself," concluded the Udta Teer director.
About The Film
Directed and written by Aakash Kaushik and produced by Karan Johar, Adar Poonawalla, Guneet Monga, Apoorva Mehta and Achin Jain under Dharma Productions and Sikhya Entertainment, the spy comedy stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan in the lead roles, with Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Mukul Dev, Suhail Nayyar, Supriya Pilgaonkar, Brijendra Kala and Sandeep Anand in supporting roles. It is the second posthumous appearance of Mukul Dev, following his passing in 2025.
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