Mukul Dev Kaushal (; 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.
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.
Mukul stated that he was exposed to Afghan culture through his father, who could speak Pashto and Persian. His father, Hari Dev, a former Assistant Commissioner of Police, died on 17 April 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 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).
Shortly before his death, he shot for Son of Sardaar 2 and Udta Teer, the latter of which will mark his final film appearance.
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.
Filmography Film + List of Mukul Dev film credits Year Title Role Language Notes1996DastakACP Rohit MalhotraHindi1998WajoodInspector Nihal JoshiIski Topi Uske SarrRajHimmatwalaSurajQilaAmar A. SinghMere Do Anmol RatanSurinder (Suren)Sar Aakhon Par Himself 1999KohramMonty2001IttefaqVikram SinghMujhe Meri Biwi Se BachaaoMontyGuru MahaaguruAjay2003HawayeinPunjabi2005Ek Khiladi Ek HaseenaBhatiaHindi2006Chor MandliHero2007Just MarriedShoib Mirza2008De TaaliSunilKrishnaJakkaTelugu2009RajaniJakkaKannadaEk NiranjanKailashTeluguSidhamBilal2010KediHuman BombAdhursRasool2011BejawadaVijay KrishnaAbhisandhiBengaliMoney Money, More MoneyAbbasTeluguYamla Pagla DeewanaGurmeet 'Billa' Singh BrarHindi2012BurrraahhGurpartap Singh NaziPunjabiSon of SardaarTony SandhuHindiAwaraTony BharadwajBengaliChaar Din Ki ChandniUdaybhanHindiNippuShankar KhakhaTelugu2013R... RajkumarQamar AliHindiBhaiAnthonyTeluguHeer and HeroInspector ZaildarPunjabiWar Chhod Na YaarAfghani GhuspetiaHindi2014Creature 3DProfessor SadanaBachchanUnderworld King MasterBengaliBaazDarbaraPunjabiJalHindiJai HoShreekanth Paatil2015Meeruthiya GangstersR.K. SinghBhaag JohnyACP PathanShareekDara BrarPunjabiIshq Vich: You Never KnowUnknownHero 'Naam Yaad Rakhi'Jeet2016Saka - The Martyrs of Nankana SahibSardar Kartar Singh JhabbarNagarahavuCameoKannadaZorawarSamarjeet SinghPunjabiJora 10 NumbariaShera2018PagalpantiInspector Ram SharmaGujaratiTeri Bhabhi Hai PagleArru BhaiHindiMy StorySunilMalayalamSultan: The SaviourDinesh Roy / SarkaarBengaliNirdoshRanaHindiOmertaScreenwriter2019DaakaInspector Kuldeep SinghPunjabiSaakKaram Singh's friendBarefoot WarriorsDaman SinghEnglishMunda FaridkotiaDarveshPunjabiSarabha: Cry for FreedomHarnam Singh TundilatAlso released in English and Hindi3rd EyeMalikHindi2022Anth The End 2025 Son of Sardaar 2 Tony Sandhu Posthumous release2026Udta TeerAzhar Maqsood
Television + List of Mukul Dev television credits Year Serial Role Notes 1995A Mouthful of SkyPiyush 1996MumkinVijay Pandey 2000–2003 Gharwali Uparwali Ravi 2002 Hare Kanch Ki Chudian Amar Telefilm 2002 Ek Tukdaa Chaand Ka Akash Kapoor 2002 Kahin Diyaa Jale Kahin Jiyaa Rohit Rajvansh 2003 Kutumb Abhijat Desai 2003–2004 Gharwali Uparwali Aur Sunny Ravi 2004 Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat - Kab Kaisey Kahan Himanshu One episode Bhabhi Tilak Chopra 2004–2006 K. Street Pali Hill Arindam Keshav 2005 Kasshish Aman 2006 Fear Factor India Host Ssshhhh...Phir Koi Hai - Waaris Kunwar Virendra Pratap Singh One episode 2008 Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan Pulkit Arslaan Zakfaar Kabhi Kabhii Pyaar Kabhi Kabhii Yaar Himself Winner 2009 Ssshhhh...Phir Koi Hai - Thakur Ki Dulhan Thakur Virendra Pratap Singh 2018 21 Sarfarosh - Saragarhi 1897 Gul Badshah
Web series + List of Mukul Dev web series credits Year Title Role Notes2019Maaya Dr. Akash Arora2020State Of Siege: 26/11Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi
Dubbing roles Live action films + List of Mukul Dev film live action dubbing credits Title Actor(s) Character(s) Dubbed Language Original Language Original year release Dubbed year release Notes Black Panther Andy Serkis Ulysses Klaue Hindi English 2018 2018 Pawan Shukla dubbed this character in Avengers: Age of Ultron Captain Marvel Jude Law Yon-Rogg 2019 2019
Awards and nominations Year Awards Category Work Result Refs 2008 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor in a Negative Role Kumkum – Ek Pyara Sa Bandhan 2019Indian Telly AwardsBest Actor in a Negative Role (Jury)21 Sarfarosh – Saragarhi 1897
References
External links