Kuku Kohli, the Bollywood filmmaker born Avtar Kohli in Peshawar who spent more than three decades directing commercial Hindi cinema and gave Ajay Devgn his first starring role, died Monday August 25 at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai at the age of 77.
He had been admitted the day before after suffering a heart attack, underwent an angioplasty and stent procedure, but suffered a cardiac arrest and could not be revived. Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit confirmed the death to PTI.
His 1991 directorial debut Phool Aur Kaante was the film that made him a name in Bollywood, an action film starring the then-unknown Ajay Devgn whose split-entry-on-two-bikes opening scene became one of the era's most imitated images.
The film reached diamond jubilee status, a milestone in Indian box office terms, and launched both Devgn's career and Kohli's reputation as a reliable commercial director.
He went on to make Suhaag, starring Devgn, Akshay Kumar, Karishma Kapoor and Nagma, Kohram with Dharmendra, Haqeeqat, Zulmi and several others across the 1990s and 2000s. He had trained under the legendary Raj Kapoor early in his career.
He was married to veteran actress Aruna Irani, one of the most recognized faces of Indian cinema, who was seen at his funeral the following day at the Oshiwara crematorium in Mumbai, bidding him an emotional farewell alongside the film fraternity. Devgn posted: "Forever grateful for the faith you had in me."