Mukul Dev’s debut film was shelved because Amitabh Bachchan’s company went bankrupt; Jaya Bachchan gave him Rs 75k as signing amount

While Mahesh Bhatt's Dastak marked Mukul Dev's debut film, not many know that Mukul had earlier shot for a film titled Naam Kya Hai, which was bankrolled by Amitabh Bachchan's company ABCL.

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | May 24, 2025 01:08 PM IST

3 min read

Actor Mukul Dev’s death at the age of 54 has left the television and film industry in shock. Apart from starring in various television shows, Mukul was also part of many films. He made his debut with a lead role in Mahesh Bhatt’s Dastak (1996). While that officially marked the beginning of his career as an actor, not many know that Mukul had earlier shot for a film titled Naam Kya Hai, which was bankrolled by Amitabh Bachchan’s company ABCL. However, the film got shelved and was never released in theatres.

In an old interaction with Planet Bollywood, Mukul shared that the film, produced by ABCL, was supposed to be his acting debut in the Hindi film industry, but the film never saw the light of day despite being completed, as Big B’s production company ran into a financial crisis. He said, “Yes, the film was complete but it could never get a release for itself. ABCL was going through a financial crisis and a couple of other films that were produced by the company during that time did not release.”

In another old interaction with Lehren TV, Mukul had also shared that the signing amount he got for Naam Kya Hai was his first-ever income in his acting career. He said, “My first income was Rs 75,000 and they were given by Jaya Bachchan for the ABCL film. When she met me she had said, ‘I want to sign you. We are making three films and you are doing at least one film with us among the three films that we are producing. I don’t know which of these films you will do but you will do a film with us.'”

Also read | Mukul Dev Death Live Updates: Actor-model dies at 54 ‘due to health related issues’, his last Instagram post talks about ‘dark forebodings’

Mukul recalled that he ‘couldn’t believe’ that Jaya Bachchan had called and offered him a film. He said, “I even told her on phone, ‘Who is this? Why are you joking with me?’ Later when I realised it is her, I went to meet her.”

After Mukul’s death, his brother Rahul Dev took to X (formerly Twitter) to pay his last respects and wrote, “We are deeply saddened to inform you that our brother Mukul Dev passed away peacefully last night in New Delhi. He is survived by his daughter, Sia Dev, and will be dearly missed by his siblings Rashmi Kaushal, Rahul Dev, and his nephew Sidhant Dev.”

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