Veteran filmmaker Kuku Kohli passed away on Tuesday evening due to a heart attack. Among other films, the director was most known for his 1991 film Phool aur Kaante, which also launched the acting career of Ajay Devgn.
According to Ashoke Pandit, who told PTI, Kuku was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital on Tuesday after he complained of feeling uncomfortable. Around 4.30, he was declared dead due to a heart attack. The filmmaker was 77 years old at the time of his demise.
Born Avtar Kohli, the director began his career as an assistant in the 1970s, working with a stalwart like Raj Kapoor, and later with Rahul Rawail. Kuku also played small roles in many films like Bobby (1973), Dharam Karam (1975) and Samundar (1985).
It was only in 1991 that Kuku made his directorial debut. While Dharmendra starrer Kohraam (1991) marked his first film, it was the massively successful Phool aur Kaante, releasing the same year, that gave him credibility. With its successful music and intense father-son drama, the Ajay Devgn-Madhoo starrer was a huge box office hit.
Among other reasons, the film continues to be remembered for its bike stunt scene, where Ajay Devgn stood on two parallel bikes at once.
In the coming decade and a half, Kuku made several films, some of which became successes like Suhaag (1994), Anari No 1 (1999) and Yeh Dil Aashiqanaa (2002). However, after the failure of Woh Tera Naam Tha (2004), Kuku stepped back from filmmaking.
On the personal front, Kuku was married to eminent actor Aruna Irani since 1990, and the couple had no children. However, Kuku had two daughters from his first marriage with Rita Kohli — Pooja, who is a producer, and Karishma, who has worked as an assistant director on films like Ek Tha Tiger (2012) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015).
