Mukul Dev : A Biography

Mr. Mukul Dev (17 September 1970 – 23 May 2025) was an Indian television and film actor. He was renowned for his roles in Hindi and Punjabi films, TV series, and music albums, and also appeared in Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, and Telugu films. He received the 7th Amrish Puri Award for Excellence in Acting for his performance in the film Yamla Pagla Deewana.

Early life - Mukul Dev was born in New Delhi into a Punjabi family with roots in a village near Jalandhar and grew up in Delhi. He was the younger brother of actor and model Rahul Dev. They also have a sister. He studied at St. Columba's School, Delhi. His father, Hari Dev, a former Assistant Commissioner of Police, died on April 17, 2019, at the age of 91. In class 8, he won his first pay cheque when he impersonated Michael Jackson for a dance show organized by Doordarshan. He was a trained pilot from the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi.

Career

Television - Mukul Dev made his acting debut on TV as Piyush Raheja in the first of its kind Indian television series called "A Mouthful of Sky" which aired in 1995 on DD National. It was the first serial in English to be produced in India. He also later acted in the serial Mumkin playing the role of Vijay Pandey in 1996. He also acted in Doordarshan's Ek Se Badkar Ek, a comedy Bollywood countdown show. He was also the host of Fear Factor India Season 1. He acted in several television serials in the 2000s such as Kahin Diyaa Jale Kahin Jiyaa (2001), Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii (2003) and Pyar Zindagi Hai (2003). He participated in the dance competition show Kabhi Kabhii Pyaar Kabhi Kabhii Yaar in 2008. In 2018, he appeared in 65 episodes of the television series "21 Sarfarosh - Saragarhi 1897".

Films - Mukul Dev was spotted by Amitabh Bachchan's company ABCL and got a role for a movie titled Naam Kya Hai but it got shelved. He made his film debut in 1996 with Dastak as ACP Rohit Malhotra in the same movie which also introduced Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen. He appeared in several films such as Qila (1998), Wajood (1998), Mere Do Anmol Ratan (1998), Kohram (1999) and Mujhe Meri Biwi Se Bachaao (2001). He also appeared in many regional films in Punjabi, Bengali and Telugu languages.
In recent years he played supporting roles in the Hindi films Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011), Son of Sardaar (2012), R... Rajkumar (2013) and Jai Ho (2014), Son of Sardaar 2 (2025).

Personal Life - Mukul Dev was married to Shilpa Dev, with whom he had a daughter named Sia. The couple separated in 2005 due to differences over trivial matters, though neither blamed the other. Despite the separation, Mukul maintained a close relationship with his daughter. He kept his personal life private and rarely spoke about his ex-wife. After the separation, Mukul Dev's wife Shilpa Dev started living with her daughter in her maternal home in Delhi. Mukul Dev used to visit Delhi occasionally to meet his daughter.

Death - In May 2025, Dev was hospitalised for an illness. His health worsened and despite being moved to the intensive care unit, he died in New Delhi on 23 May, at the age of 54. Mukul Dev's body was cremated by his elder brother Rahul Dev in Mumbai.