EXCLUSIVE: Udta Teer director Aakash A Kaushik reveals AI was used to add Mukul Dev’s Operation Sindoor dialogue; recalls HEARTBREAKING memories: “I still listen to his WhatsApp voice notes”
In September 2026, Bollywood Hungama was the first to report that the late Mukul Dev would be seen in Udta Teer. We further revealed that the actor would be seen performing action and comedy and would also have a face-off with Ayushmann Khurrana. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Udta Teer’s writer-director Aakash A Kaushik opened up about his fond memories of working with Mukul Dev.
Aakash A Kaushik said, “I have a lot of fond memories of him. He had this beautiful laughter. I miss that a lot. Whenever I would narrate the scenes to him, he would laugh his heart out and remark, ‘Yaar, yeh bahut funny hain’. 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’.”
Aakash confessed, “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 hain’. 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.”
Mukul Dev passed away at the age of 54 on May 23, 2025. When asked if he was aware that he was ill and hospitalized for a week before his demise, Aakash replied, “I didn’t. It came as a shock to me. I had spoken to him for a month. When the news of his demise came, I was completely stunned. For the next few days, I just couldn’t work.”
Udta Teer was largely filmed in 2024. Interestingly, the film begins with a sequence depicting Operation Sindoor, which took place on May 7, 2025. Mukul Dev’s character is also seen mentioning Operation Sindoor. This raises the question: Did Aakash A Kaushik tweak the script and Mukul Dev’s dialogue to incorporate the landmark incident into the film? Aakash confirmed, “Yes. We had plans to show something else. But when Operation Sindoor happened, we decided to tweak his dialogue.”
But how did the makers manage to incorporate the new dialogue, considering that Mukul Dev had passed away by then? Did Aakash and his team use AI to recreate the late actor’s voice? Aakash replied, “Yes, we did.”
The post EXCLUSIVE: Udta Teer director Aakash A Kaushik reveals AI was used to add Mukul Dev’s Operation Sindoor dialogue; recalls HEARTBREAKING memories: “I still listen to his WhatsApp voice notes” appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.