Mukul Anand: The Whiz Kid!

Mukul Anand: The Whiz Kid!

The untimely demise of Mukul Anand on 7th September 1997 had left the industry in shock. Mukul was about to turn 46 when his premature death created a permanent void in the space of his directorial vision, ambition and scale. But even before his departure, Mukul registered an indelible mark with his distinct style of storytelling, technique and large cinematic canvas in all his films.

A filmography that commenced from ‘Kanoon Kya Karega’ in 1984 to the unfinished ‘Dus’ in 1997 is a fascinating and everlasting odyssey that remains as an endearing remembrance for the filmmaker fraternity but also for the cinephiles who were pulled by their heartstrings.

Mukul was called the Whiz kid of Bollywood for his immaculate sense of scale and imagery – he powered his larger-than-life storytelling through a vivid kaleidoscope of shots, quite ahead of their time. His frames screamed motion; his craft screamed magic.

On 11th October 2025, he would have turned 74 if he had not succumbed to the ill-fated cardiac arrest. Sharing his birthday with Amitabh Bachchan, Anand went on to make three films with him in three consecutive years, while bringing the megastar into limelight and public focus. ‘Agneepath’, ‘Hum’ and ‘Khuda Gawaah’ turned out to be career-defining films for Amitabh and also fetched him numerous accolades including his second National award. Anand also designed a successful comeback for Vinod Khanna when he “re-introduced VK” in ‘Insaaf’, 1987 after his ‘Osho’ sojourn.

Anand’s sensibilities were not just confined to his leading men, but also his villains. He enjoyed great working dynamics with Danny Denzongpa, Suresh Oberoi, Kiran Kumar and Deepak Shirke. But not many would know he shared a very warm relationship with the late Amjad Khan. Their bond of friendship dated back to the early 70s where Mukul was assisting Chetan Anand saab and Amjad Khan was working in his war epic, “Hindustan Ki Kasam”. As opposed to the popular belief about his debut in Sholay as the deadly dacoit, Gabbar Singh, Amjad Khan had played the part of a Pakistani pilot there. It is also known in his close network of family and friends that it was Mukul who had pitched the idea of taking Amjad ji as Gabbar to Ramesh Sippy and had then shown him the early rushes of Hindustan Ki Kasam.

Years later, Amjad Khan returned the favour of his dear friend by acting in his high-voltage action-drama of 1990, ‘Maha Sangram’, which saw the veteran playing the role of a wheel-chair bound underworld Mafioso, Bada Goda. His son, Chhota Goda, played by Aditya Pancholi, was a volatile and hot-headed man who undergoes a reform when the film reaches its end stages.

Amjad Khan was not in the best of health during those days and Mukul kept that thing in mind. So, he confined that character to a ‘no-movement’ based role. In most of his films, you would see a non-evil and humane side of his antagonists. Danny Saab’s Baktawar longed for his family in ‘Hum’ and Raj Babbar in ‘Aitbaar’ was not a stereotypical villain, but a fascinating character with complex layers.

 

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