Entertainment
oi-Ashish Rana
Veteran filmmaker Kuku Kohli, best known for directing Phool Aur Kaante and launching Ajay Devgn in Hindi cinema, died on Tuesday, August 25, at the age of 77. Kohli passed away at Mumbai’s Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital after suffering a heart attack. His death marks the end of a filmmaking career that remained closely associated with popular Hindi cinema of the 1990s.
Veteran filmmaker Kuku Kohli, known for directing Ajay Devgn’s debut ‘Phool Aur Kaante’, died on Tuesday, August 25, at age 77 after suffering a heart attack at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai.
Kuku Kohli’s Film Career And Ajay Devgn Connection
Kohli made his directorial debut with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991. The action drama, starring Ajay Devgn, Madhoo, Amrish Puri, Aruna Irani and Jagdeep, became a commercial success and gave Devgn his breakthrough in Bollywood. Kohli later collaborated with Devgn on Suhaag, which also starred Akshay Kumar, Karisma Kapoor and Nagma.
His other directorial credits included Haqeeqat, Zulmi, Anari No. 1 and Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa. His final film as a director was Woh Tera Naam Tha, released in 2004.
Kuku Kohli And Aruna Irani’s Relationship
Kohli is survived by veteran actor Aruna Irani and his two daughters, Pooja and Karishma, from his first marriage to Rita Kohli. Irani had earlier spoken about how her relationship with Kuku began with frequent disagreements on a film set before developing into romance.
In a 2022 interview with The Times of India, she recalled, “So we started with a love and hate relationship. I used to get very upset with him and he used to console me. Uss chakkar mein kaise lafda ho gaya samajh nahi aya (Don’t know how we fell for each other due to that).”
What Happened To Kuku Kohli?
Kohli was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital after experiencing health problems. According to filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, he suffered a massive heart attack and died at the hospital on Tuesday evening.
His contribution will be remembered particularly through Phool Aur Kaante, the film that introduced Ajay Devgn to audiences and became an important starting point in the actor’s long Bollywood career.
