Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

Ssshhh... Mukul Dev is here

Mukul Dev is going to haunt you on Star One soon

NEW ROLE Now on telly

Mukul Dev. Does the name ring a bell? He is the guy who was launched by Mahesh Bhatt with

Sushmita Sen in Dastak. He is the guy who got an opportunity to work with the legendary Dilip Kumar in his last outing on celluloid, Qila. But ask any youngster today, and he would recognise him as the dashing host of Sony's Fear Factor.

"I always got an opportunity to work with big banners, but unfortunately those were times when even the big names were faltering," says Mukul. Having started from the small screen, Mukul switched to the television again and the medium lapped up its hero. Gharwali Uparwali, Bhabhi and Kasme Vaade followed. Then he apparently got bored of tedious schedules and went on a sabbatical, only to return as a host.

Black magic

Taking the fear factor forward, Mukul will now be seen in one of the episodes of the new Friday 10 p.m. show on Star One, Ssshhh... Phir Koi Hai . "Here I play a Rajput, a descendant of the royalty who falls in love with a girl. Soon he figures out that the girl is involved in black magic and hoodoo. So he rejects her advances. Now the girl wants to avenge the rejection by using the black magic on the relatives of the boy."

Talking of fear, Mukul says Fear Factor has helped him overcome many. "I used to fear snakes, but once I saw some 500-odd snakes on the sets for days, I understood their behaviour. Eventually, one day I went to a theme party in Kuala Lumpur where a girl was standing with a white python. I took the python and put it around my neck. The fear had gone."

He points out Indians are as good as participants from any other country when it comes to physical tasks. "It's only when it comes to food tasks that they lag behind because unlike people in China and South East Asia, we are not used to insects and raw meat." He says the most difficult one is to eat the raw organs of goat.

Mukul believes the reality shows find good response from liberal urban audience. "Like Bigg Boss is a good concept but it won't appeal to common man because it's slow and he won't be able to comprehend what they are talking about." Mukul says personally he won't like to be a part of such a show. "I can't open my life to public." Diversifying, Mukul would soon be seen on ESPN in Full Toss. Meanwhile, he is reviving his box office dreams with films like Meghna Gulzar's Baat Pukki and E. Niwas's De Taali.

ANUJ KUMAR

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail